Alipay announced the launch of 'AlipayHK', a HK-dollar account balance service, in October 2016 allowing users to top up their account in their local currency by showing the in-app QR code and paying cash at convenience stores across the territory.
Alibaba's financial services unit Ant Financial says the new dollar-denominated AlipayHK app will be accepted initially at more than 2000 stores in Hong Kong from tomorrow.
Over time, the 8000 or so Hong Kong retail outlets that currently accept the yuan-based app will converted.
Douglas Feagin, SVP of Ant Financial, says: "Introducing local currency mobile payments to Hong Kong is an important step forward in Ant Financial's mission to bring our services to more users in more markets."
Alipay, the mobile payments app from China's Alibaba, is taking its first step to offering non-yuan payment options with the release of a version denominated in Hong Kong dollars.
