Ant International Brings Alipay+ QR Payments to Latin America

For Ant International, the PVS deal delivers an on-the-ground QR footprint that did not previously exist in the region. Rather than building a proprietary merchant network from scratch, the company is leveraging PVS's existing relationships and customized payment solutions to gain rapid acceptance infrastructure.

How the Latin America strategy fits together

The PVS partnership is not happening in isolation. It is one piece of a multi-pronged entry into Latin America that Ant International has assembled over the past year.

Mastercard NFC deal adds tap-to-pay coverage

In September 2025 and April 2026, Alipay+ worked with Mastercard to enable overseas NFC payments for mobile wallet users. Kakao Pay was among the first Alipay+ partners to offer the feature, letting its users tap their phones at more than 150 million Mastercard contactless terminals globally, including across Latin America . The dual approach gives Alipay+-connected wallets two ways to pay: QR codes through the PVS network and NFC taps through Mastercard’s existing merchant base. The Mastercard integration effectively fills the acceptance gap for locations that already have contactless terminals but no PVS relationship.

Strategic investment in R2 targets SME credit

On October 30, 2025, Ant International disclosed a strategic investment in R2, the leading embedded lending infrastructure company in Latin America . The investment is aimed squarely at expanding credit access for small and medium-sized enterprises in a region facing a credit gap of over US$1 trillion . R2 enables platforms like Uber Eats, Rappi, inDrive, and PayU to offer working capital financing to their merchants through an API-based, white-label experience . The investment amount was undisclosed but includes a primary capital injection by Ant International and uses the company's risk-management capabilities alongside R2’s local infrastructure .

The R2 move adds a lending layer to Ant International's Latin American presence. Where Alipay+ and Mastercard handle the payment acceptance side for tourists, R2 builds credit infrastructure for the merchants themselves, potentially deepening the commercial relationship beyond the point of sale.

Transaction volumes and regional momentum

Ant International reported supporting over 2 billion digital cross-border transactions in 2025 across its core emerging markets, which include Latin America . The company noted strong uplift among LATAM clients through digital payments, cross-border commerce, and banking solutions . While the 2 billion figure spans multiple regions, it underscores the scale at which Ant International is operating and the importance of Latin America within its growth strategy.

AI tools and tourism campaigns designed to drive spend

Payment infrastructure is only part of the picture. Ant International has also been building AI-powered travel tools and digital marketing capabilities that are designed to push travelers toward its payment touchpoints.

In July 2025, the company launched Alipay+ Voyager, an AI travel companion integrated directly into digital wallets. Built with partners Agoda, Fliggy, and Trip.com, Voyager combines Ant International’s AI capabilities with access to over 100 million merchants in the Alipay+ ecosystem . Travelers can use it to plan itineraries, make bookings, and purchase local services via text or voice in their native language—all inside their existing wallet app .

On the marketing side, Alipay+ has launched AI-generated travel campaigns with national tourism authorities. The Tourism Authority of Thailand, for example, partnered with Alipay+ in May 2026 on a campaign that uses AI-driven data analytics to interpret cross-border traveler behavior and surface themed rankings like "Thai Hotspots" and "Hidden Gems" . A similar multi-year strategic partnership with the Singapore Tourism Board focuses on using Alipay+ for cross-border digital marketing aimed at Asian travelers .

For merchants in the Alipay+ ecosystem, these tools translate into geo-targeted offers, loyalty programs, and push campaigns that reach travelers before and during their trips . The logic is straightforward: capture tourist attention early, and channel it toward merchants that accept Alipay+—including the newly connected PVS locations in Chile and Argentina.