AliPay+ may become a part of India’s digital payment ecosystem: What we know so far

AliPay+ may reportedly become available in India. An exclusive Reuters report, citing two government sources, said the government and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) are in talks with Ant International to link Alipay+ to India's instant payments system for cross-border transactions.The move would make payments easier for Indian tourists by allowing them to use India's Unified Payments Interface with merchants in foreign countries that have signed up with Alipay+.However, the Reuters report noted that the sources declined to be identified, as the discussions have not been made public. The Finance Ministry, RBI, and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) have yet to respond to requests for comment.Meanwhile, Singapore-based Ant International, the overseas arm of Chinese fintech giant Ant Group, also did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.In November 2020, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued an order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act to block access to 43 additional smartphone apps of Chinese origin. The new list included apps like Alipay Cashier, AliExpress, and WeWorkChina.In June 2020, 59 apps were banned, including TikTok, UC Browser, WeChat, Bigo Live, and others. Two months later, the government banned 118 more apps, including PUBG Mobile, PUBG Mobile Lite, WeChat Work, Baidu, Tencent Weiyun, and others.In an official statement from that time, MeitY said: “This action was taken based on the inputs regarding these apps for engaging in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order. The government issued the order for blocking the access of these apps by users in India based on the 'comprehensive reports' received from Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Center, Ministry of Home Affairs.”According to a report by Pekingnology.com, China processed the highest volume of digital payments worldwide, with hundreds of billions of transactions in 2024. The majority of these payments are processed through two apps: Alipay and WeChat Pay.Meanwhile, India accounts for the world’s largest volume of real-time payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI), which enables instant, bank-to-bank transfers. Both countries have bypassed credit and debit cards and moved to QR codes.Both systems began their journey at opposite ends. In China, it was a group of private players integrating payments into e-commerce and messaging platforms. In India, the government built a payments infrastructure through the United Payments Interface (UPI).Currently, Google Pay and PhonePe dominate UPI in India, while in China, it is Alipay and WeChat. The market structures in both countries are similar, although the governance levers are different.In India, the government deliberately lowered entry barriers for private players, hoping that small merchants and companies could enter. Yet, the entire payment system remains dominated by Google Pay and PhonePe, which account for nearly 80% of the market. On the other hand, the government-developed BHIM app accounts for only 1% of transactions.