MOVE Digital, Malaysia-listed aviation group Capital A’s digital arm, has announced a strategic collaboration with Singapore-headquartered FinTech firm Ant International.

The partnership covers various areas, exploring to integrate more payment methods and providing acquiring services to Capital A’s platforms, work on digital marketing and sponsorship opportunities to drive business growth, and to cooperate in enhancing access to sustainable finance while transitioning to a low carbon economy for the Micro, Small & Medium Enterprise (MSME) community, Capital A said in a statement on Friday.

As part of this strategic partnership, AirAsia MOVE will work with Ant International to explore integrating Alipay+ payment solutions into its platform, allowing users to pay for services using Alipay+. AirAsia MOVE and Ant International will also explore the use of various wallet technologies (Wallet Tech), including super apps and mini-programs within the Alipay+ ecosystem, to enhance user experience.

AirAsia MOVE will leverage Ant International’s extensive user base to promote its services. This will involve targeted promotions, exclusive deals for Alipay+ wallet users, and increased visibility for AirAsia MOVE within the Alipay+ ecosystem.

The two companies will collaborate on joint marketing initiatives and explore sponsorship opportunities for events like UEFA EURO 2024 Berlin.

Overall, the strategic partnerships aims to improve users experience for AirAsia MOVE’s services by leveraging Alipay+ payment solutions and user base, while also creating marketing and sponsorship opportunities.

The two sides also agreed that BigPay will become the latest Alipay+ partner wallet to allow its 1.5 million users to pay seamlessly when they travel abroad. It will also explore using Alipay+ Wallet Tech, including fraud prevention and other innovative technologies to develop a more robust payment platform.

Tony Fernandes, CEO of Capital A said, “We are thrilled to embark on this transformative journey with Ant International. Their global recognition as a financial technology powerhouse, coupled with their unparalleled expertise, is poised to propel rapid growth for our fintech venture BigPay and our online travel app (OTA) AirAsia MOVE. Both entities are dedicated to agile expansion, and this partnership promises to accelerate our collective mission of providing seamless financial services and affordable travel experiences to our customers worldwide.

“By leveraging Ant International’s innovative digital technology solutions and Capital A’s rich and popular ecosystem, we can better serve the customers in the region and beyond,” said Yang Peng, CEO of Ant International.

Capital A currently offers over 20 different products and services leveraging off each other including the airline group – AirAsia Aviation Group, AirAsia MOVE and BigPay fintech services, serving over 700 million people in the region.

Introduced in 2020, Alipay+ Cross-border Mobile Payment Service now connects over 88 million merchants in 57 countries and regions to 1.5 billion consumer accounts on over 25 e-wallets and banking apps, allowing consumers to travel and pay worry-free globally, and merchants to build out cross-border consumer engagement and digital marketing.

The service builds on Alipay+’s extensive regional partnerships, including those with national QR schemes including Singapore’s SGQR, Malaysia’s PayNet, South Korea’s ZeroPay, Sri Lanka’s LankaPay and Cambodia’s KHQR.

Ant International and Capital A will also work together to promote sustainability initiatives such as advancing global digital inclusion, cultivating digital talent and promotion of sustainable travel programs.

Tony Fernandes’s global empire to be broken up into five listed companies “utlimately”