Ant Financial's Alipay plans to expand its mobile payment service to South Korea by establishing a joint venture.

Although Alipay is yet to announce its South Korean partner, the company said that it is already outlining its plan together with its current partners like the Hana Financial Group. 

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The joint venture will be called Korea Pay, and it aims to replicate Alipay's enormous success in Korea by offering third-party online payment services. Alipay has already been accepted as a payment method by numerous South Korean businesses, but the joint venture means expansion of service.

The Chinese payment giant has already launched a solid groundwork in South Korea by opening its first overseas customer center in Seoul in November 2015. The center is catering to the needs of some six million Chinese visitors when using Alipay to shop at Korean stores. 

“Up until now, Korean shop owners or firms could sell products or services via Alipay in transactions with Chinese tourists. Accordingly, its impact has been limited,” Samsung Securities analyst Chang Hyo-sun said.

Currently, Alipay has 450 million active users, mostly based in mainland China. The app has a goal of temporarily keeping transaction payments for goods and services between the buyers and the sellers. Users can make payments for online transaction via Alipay either by depositing money into Alipay accounts in advance or directly linking credit or debit cards to Alipay accounts.

The company has already made expansions across Asia and Europe with an increased number of merchants accepting the payment method over the last two years.

TagsAlipay, Ant Financial, Alibaba, mobilet payment service, South Korea, china