Macau Pass can act “as a springboard” into wider markets, says the company’s president of international business development Charlie Zhang.
He was speaking at a breakfast meeting this morning organised by the France Macau Chamber of Commerce (FMCC), at which Zhang also addressed the 2022 acquisition of Macau Pass by Alibaba Group subsidiary AGTech for HK$778 million (US$99.6 million).
Zhang said that, in the wake of the acquisition, there are plans to further expand the service globally and “to add more countries to make [it] more convenient for tourists” to use the platform, “both inbound and outbound.” Currently, users of the affiliated MPay app are able to make overseas payments to over 40 countries via Alipay+.
According to Zhang, the second major plan is to expand the range of financial products and services that are available from Macau Pass.
[See more: MCEX is ‘a new avenue of investment’ for small businesses, its vice president says]
AGTech’s expansion into the Indian market through its joint venture with the leading Indian digital payment company, Paytm, was also discussed. Zhang said that the market was “vast,” but required time, effort and an understanding of the country’s diversity.
Meanwhile, in response to a question from an audience member, Zhang said Macau Pass would remain true to its SAR roots even as its use spread overseas. “We started from Macao and we [will] go globally…together,” Zhang said. “It’s a Macao brand and we are proud of that.”
This morning’s talk was moderated by José Alvare, a founding partner of CA Lawyers.
The next FMCC breakfast talk is scheduled to take place on 31 July. Previous talks have covered such topics as microfinance, financial integration in the Greater Bay Area and the impact of the fintech industry on business.
