KUALA LUMPUR (March 22): Malayan Banking Bhd (Maybank) is partnering China's Ant Financial Services Group, an affiliate of e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd, to provide Alipay users travelling in Malaysia with contactless payment service when they make purchases at selected merchants in Malaysia.

The new service, available from May 2017 onwards, will see Alipay being accepted at Maybank card merchants such as Parkson, Royal Selangor, Duty Free Zone, Eraman and Genting.

Operated by Ant Financial, Alipay is a leading mobile payment platform and lifestyle app with 450 million users in China and beyond.

"As a leader in card payments, Maybank will now offer Alipay customers the added convenience and security of our comprehensive cashless payment channels, thereby expanding the geographical reach of their digital wallets and enhancing their travel experience in this country," said Maybank group strategy officer Michael Foong in a statement today.

He added that more merchants are currently being processed for enrolment into the programme to ensure that Alipay users can have greater payment convenience when in Malaysia.

"Given Maybank's leading position in the Malaysian market, we believe we can provide Alipay customers even greater payment access throughout Malaysia and our customers will have greater peace of mind when transacting on Maybank's card payment platforms which are quick and secure," said Ant Financial senior vice president Douglas Feagin.

Today, Maybank is the leader in merchant sales volume in Malaysia with a 37% market share.