After becoming the first Philippine bank to offer an e-wallet that can be used for cross-border payments, Asia United Bank (AUB) is in a race to expand the coverage of its HelloMoney abroad.

AUB e-wallet HelloMoney now accepted in South Korea, Malaysia, HK

Through AUB’s partnership with Alipay+, a suite of cross-border payments, marketing and digitalization solutions operated by Ant International, HelloMoney users can now make e-wallet payments in South Korea, Malaysia, and Hong Kong SAR by simply scanning the QR code displayed in merchant stores in these countries. This makes cross-border payments using HelloMoney now possible in four countries and region, including Japan.

In South Korea, HelloMoney users can scan the ZeroPay QR, the country’s public QR-code-based digital payment service available in over 1.7 million merchants nationwide. The country has been making its digital payment services more seamless for Asian tourists visiting South Korea by connecting local merchants with various mobile payment methods foreign tourists use.

In Malaysia, HelloMoney users can scan DuitNow QR, the country’s National QR Standard operated by PayNet, which is available in 1.8 million merchants in Malaysia. This allows merchants to accept real-time payments from customers using various banks and e-wallets.

“We will continue to bring HelloMoney closer to more users to make mobile banking easier and for more merchants to help their business grow and thrive in the post-pandemic world. With Alipay+’s global presence through its integration with local merchants worldwide, our HelloMoney users will have a wider reach in payment acceptance while ensuring a safe and secure digital transaction,” said Wilfredo Rodriguez Jr., AUB executive vice president and head of Operations & Information Technology.

Launched by AUB in 2019 ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, HelloMoney enables users to open an account without going to a physical branch and perform bank-to-bank fund transfers, buy prepaid load, remit money through PeraPadala, pay via QR code, settle bills, withdraw via ATM, and shop online using HelloMoney’s very own virtual Mastercard. Members of state-owned Pag-IBIG Fund can also manage their account and perform banking transactions through the Pag-IBIG Loyalty Card Plus via HelloMoney.

“Over the years, AUB has been building a digital arsenal that include pioneering initiatives and innovations — from end-to-end digital account opening, to enabling clients to make banking easy through their mobile phone and merchants to sustain their businesses even with restricted mobility during the pandemic. With Alipay+'s global presence through its integration with local merchants worldwide, our HelloMoney users will have a wider reach in payment acceptance while ensuring a safe and secure digital transaction,” added Mr. Rodriguez. Over a million HelloMoney users will also be able to take advantage of more competitive exchange rates compared to prevailing market rates.

As of end-October 2023, the number of HelloMoney transactions has reached 30 million, a 65% increase compared with 19 million in the same period a year ago. The value of transactions reached P115 billion, 82% higher than year-ago’s P63 billion.