Sir, In response to your report “Japanese banks aim to introduce digital currency” (September 27): Ant Financial, Alipay’s parent company, would like to provide readers with some clarifications on our international business and operations in Japan.
Today, Alipay serves Chinese tourists who travel to Japan and use the Alipay app to pay for goods and services. Alipay is a mobile payment and lifestyle application used by millions of Chinese individuals. When they travel abroad, including trips to Japan, they are able to use the same convenient application to pay for goods and services purchased abroad. Alipay partners with many Japanese acquirers and merchants to enable its customers to use the Alipay app to complete purchases in Japan. This has led to increased sales by Japanese merchants to Chinese consumers. We do not yet offer a local mobile payment product for local Japanese. If we were to offer a local mobile wallet in Japan, it would abide by all local data privacy and protection rules.
Indeed, Ant Financial itself and through its partnerships adheres to consumer data and privacy protection rules around the world. Customer trust has been the centrepiece of our company’s philosophy and operations since our inception.