What is Alipay+ and why India is weighing UPI link with this payment system

India is reportedly in talks to link UPI with Alipay+, a global payments platform operated by Ant International. The move could allow Indian users to make cross-border payments more easily

India is in talks to link its Unified Payments Interface (UPI) with Alipay+, a global payments network operated by Ant International, according to a recent report by Reuters. If approved, the move would allow Indian users to make cross-border payments using UPI at overseas merchants connected to Alipay+, potentially expanding UPI’s reach far beyond its current set of bilateral arrangements. 

The discussions come as India looks to make UPI more usable for international travel and overseas payments, while balancing security concerns tied to Alipay+’s Chinese origins. The proposal is still under consideration and subject to regulatory and security clearances.

What is Alipay+

Alipay+ is a global payments network operated by Ant International, which was founded by China’s Ant Group and later spun off as an independent entity headquartered in Singapore. Unlike Alipay, which is a consumer-facing digital wallet widely used in China, Alipay+ functions as a merchant-facing platform.

  It allows merchants to accept payments from multiple domestic wallets and payment apps across different countries through a single integration. According to company disclosures cited in the Reuters report, Alipay+ connects around 1.8 billion user accounts with more than 150 million merchants across over 100 markets, spanning Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and Latin America. 

How Alipay+ works in cross-border payments

Alipay+ acts as an intermediary layer between local payment systems and merchants. When a user makes a payment using a supported domestic wallet, Alipay+ handles the routing, settlement, and currency conversion in the background, allowing the merchant to receive funds locally. 

For users, this means they can pay using their existing payment app without signing up for a new service or downloading a foreign wallet. For merchants, it reduces the need to support multiple country-specific payment systems individually.

What linking UPI with Alipay+ would mean

If UPI is linked with Alipay+, Indian users could use UPI apps to make payments at overseas merchants that are part of the Alipay+ network. This would be particularly relevant for Indian tourists and short-term travellers, who currently rely on cards, cash, or local wallets while abroad.

 

  The move would also align with India’s broader effort to expand UPI beyond domestic use. At present, UPI works internationally through bilateral arrangements in a limited number of countries. A connection with Alipay+ would offer access to a much wider merchant network through a single integration.

Security and regulatory concerns

Despite the potential benefits, the talks are subject to significant security and regulatory review. Government sources cited by Reuters said a final decision would be taken only after evaluating concerns related to data security and India’s digital payments infrastructure. 

One source noted that Alipay+’s roots in China raise geopolitical and data protection considerations. India’s tightened investment rules for China-linked firms, introduced after 2020, remain in force, and any integration would need to comply with those safeguards. 

India’s finance ministry, the RBI, and the National Payments Corporation of India have not publicly commented on the discussions so far.