Malaysia’s lender Hong Leong Bank (HLB) is expanding its cross-border payment ecosystem by integrating Alipay+ through Payments Network Malaysia (PayNet), establishing an extensive overseas QR payment networks directly within the HLB Connect App.

The addition of Alipay+ enriches HLB’s existing payment connectivity, building on PayNet’s existing bilateral linkages to national QR networks across ASEAN including Singapore’s NETS, Thailand’s PromptPay, Indonesia’s QRIS, and Cambodia’s Bakong, the bank said in a statement on last Friday.

Alipay+ payment is instant and will be pulled from the customer’s MYR banking account

This further enriches HLB’s existing connectivity with UnionPay International (UPI) and Weixin Pay, which already provides access to over 120 million QR-enabled merchants across China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Thailand.

Customers can make cross-border QR payments directly on the HLB Connect App without downloading extra payment apps or making separate e-wallet top-ups.

Depending on the network and participating merchant, they can scan a merchant’s QR code or present their HLB QR Pay code for the merchant to scan. Complementing HLB’s comprehensive overseas payment ecosystem, this is designed to give travellers complete flexibility across any spending scenario.

With this, HLB Connect is able to deliver a comprehensive, single-app cashless payment ecosystems for travelers across the region’s most frequented destinations.

Customers can seamlessly pay abroad by scanning merchant QR codes, presenting their in-app QR codes to be scanned, linking eligible HLB cards directly to leading Chinese superapps like Weixin Pay, or tapping via Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.

“When customers travel, they want to know they can pay easily and with confidence. Bringing these networks together gives them more places to pay through HLB Connect, alongside the cards and other payment options they already use. Our cross-border partners help us make this possible by connecting our customers to the continuously expanding payment networks that merchants use in their markets and countries,

“For over 120 years, helping people move money across borders has been part of HLB’s story, supporting families, businesses and opportunities abroad. That role depends on the trust our customers place in us. As payment technology evolves, we will keep working to earn that trust by making it easier for customers to manage and use their money wherever their travels take them,” said Kevin Lam, HLB’s Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer.

Malaysia’s Cashku adds KAF Investment Funds to advice platform, widening EPF, Shariah options