PPMI, Alipay+ Expand QR Ph to Connect Filipino Businesses with Global Consumers
Philippine Payments Management Inc. and Alipay+ expand QR Ph into cross-border commerce, allowing international consumers to pay Filipino merchants using supported home e-wallets and banking apps. (L-R) Danny Chung, General Manager of Alipay+ Global Growth Center, Ant International; Carmelita “Melit”
Araneta, General Manager of Philippine Payments Management Inc.; Atty. Bridget Rose M. Mesina-Romero, Director, Payments Policy and Development Department, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas
- Global QR Reach: Philippine Payments Management Inc. and Alipay+ have connected QR Ph with Alipay+’s international payments ecosystem, allowing overseas consumers to use supported home e-wallets and banking apps when paying QR Ph-accepting merchants in the Philippines.
- Merchant Opportunities: The partnership opens cross-border payment opportunities for around 2.5 million local merchants and SMEs, helping Filipino businesses serve international travelers and digital consumers without requiring a separate QR payment system.
- Connected Markets: Alipay+ is now linked with more than 10 national payment schemes across Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America, while its broader network connects over 2 billion consumer accounts and more than 50 mobile payment providers across 220+ markets.
The Philippines’ increasingly connected digital payments landscape is getting a much bigger international reach. Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI) and Alipay+ have officially enabled Alipay+ on QR Ph, linking the country's national QR payment ecosystem with consumers using supported payment services from around the world.
Announced on September 1, 2026, the partnership supports the digital payments transformation goals of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) while creating new opportunities for Filipino merchants, particularly micro, small and medium enterprises or MSMEs, to participate in cross-border commerce.
According to the BSP's 2025 Report on E-Payments Measurement, digital payments already account for 64.69% of retail transaction volume in the Philippines. QR Ph transactions, meanwhile, increased more than 13 times in 2025, showing how quickly QR-based payments are becoming part of everyday transactions in the country.
Connecting QR Ph to Global Consumers
The integration essentially extends the reach of the Philippines' growing national QR network to Alipay+'s international ecosystem.
International consumers using participating Alipay+ partner e-wallets and banking apps can scan and pay directly at QR Ph-accepting merchants nationwide using the mobile payment services they already have. On the merchant side, businesses can receive these payments through their existing QR Ph codes.
This means merchants do not have to depend on an entirely separate QR payment setup just to serve supported international consumers. For local businesses, especially smaller establishments and SMEs, the arrangement potentially makes it easier to participate in the growing flow of commerce generated by international travelers and digital consumers.
The partnership significantly expands cross-border connectivity for an ecosystem that reaches around 2.5 million local merchants and SMEs, bringing international payment capabilities closer to businesses already participating in the country's digital payments infrastructure.
From Digital Payments to Cross-Border Commerce
For Filipino SMEs, accepting digital payments is increasingly about more than simply providing customers with another way to settle a transaction. Connected payment networks can potentially become gateways to new customers, new markets, and additional sources of growth.
PPMI sees the partnership as an extension of the interoperability that QR Ph has already been building within the Philippines.
Carmelita “Melit” Araneta, General Manager of Philippine Payments Management Inc., said, "QR Ph has played an important role in advancing a more connected and interoperable digital payments ecosystem in the Philippines, making digital payments more accessible and convenient for businesses and consumers. Through our partnership with Alipay+, we are extending that connectivity beyond our borders, enabling Filipino merchants — particularly SMEs — to serve international customers more seamlessly. This is an important step in bringing the benefits of digitalization into everyday commerce, while creating new opportunities for Filipino businesses to participate and grow in the global digital economy."
Connecting Alipay+ with QR Ph effectively brings international payment connectivity into the same digital payment ecosystem already being used by Filipino businesses and consumers.
That approach could be particularly relevant as digital payment adoption continues to expand locally. Instead of cross-border commerce existing as an entirely separate layer, the partnership brings it closer to the QR infrastructure merchants already use.
Making International Payments More Seamless
From the Alipay+ perspective, familiarity and convenience are important parts of making cross-border digital payments work for both consumers and merchants.
Danny Chung, General Manager of Alipay+ Global Growth Center, Ant International, said, “Our role is to make it as easy as possible for a customer to pay with the mobile app they already use, while helping the merchant participate in a much bigger marketplace. The Philippines has built a strong digital payments ecosystem through QR Ph, and by connecting that ecosystem with Alipay+, we are helping bring the benefits of digitalization to the next level, giving Filipino businesses a more seamless way to serve consumers from around the world.”
The partnership follows Alipay+'s broader strategy of connecting with national payment schemes to support interoperable mobile payments across different markets.
Alipay+ is currently connected with more than 10 national QR schemes across Asia, the Middle East, and Latin America. These connections bring cross-border payment capabilities directly into participating local payment ecosystems rather than treating international payments as isolated services.
A Network Spanning 220+ Markets
The scale behind Alipay+ gives some perspective on the potential reach of the QR Ph connection. Alipay+ currently connects more than 2 billion consumer accounts and over 50 mobile payment providers, including leading e-wallets and bank apps.
Its ecosystem also encompasses more than 10 national switches as well as QR and NFC merchants globally across more than 220 markets.
Beyond payment interoperability, Alipay+ is expanding its suite of AI solutions aimed at helping mobile payment providers and merchants transform as mobile and digital commerce continues to evolve.
For the Philippines, however, the immediate significance of the PPMI and Alipay+ partnership is straightforward: a QR payment infrastructure that has rapidly grown domestically can now become another bridge between Filipino businesses and international consumers.
With QR Ph already becoming more widely used for retail payments, adding cross-border connectivity extends what the same QR infrastructure can do. For millions of participating merchants and SMEs, that could make digital payments not just a local convenience but also a practical gateway to global commerce.
About PPMI
Established in 2017 under Republic Act No. 11127, or the National Payment Systems Act (NPSA), the Philippine Payments Management Inc. (PPMI) collaborates with the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas Supervised Financial Institutions (BSFIs) to advance accessibility and competitiveness in the Philippine payments system through digital payment initiatives.
Designated by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) as the Payments System Management Body (PSMB) in 2018 under BSP Circular 980 on the National Retail Payment System (NRPS), PPMI drives the transition from cash-heavy to cash-lite payment transactions, offering faster, safer and more convenient digital financial services.
PPMI is guided by a Board of Directors composed of CEO representatives from banks, including universal, commercial, thrift, and rural banks, non-bank E-money issuers (NB-EMIs), and independent executives. Under the Board's leadership, PPMI fosters scalable and reliable innovations in digital payments.
All members participate in both or at least one Automated Clearing House (ACH), namely PESONet for batch electronic transfers and InstaPay for instant electronic transfers.
About Alipay+
Ant International's Alipay+ is a unified wallet gateway offering cross-border payments and digitization services that connect global merchants with consumers.
Consumers enjoy seamless payments, a broad range of deals, and the convenience of using their preferred payment app or e-wallet for digital services while traveling abroad. Many small and medium-sized businesses already use Alipay+ digital tools to enhance efficiency and achieve omni-channel growth.
