Ant Financial names a new GM for cross-border business in Asia

Ant Financial Services Group has appointed Dr Cherry Huang as GM, Cross-border Business for South and Southeast Asia of Alipay. Reporting directly to Carl Su, VP, Ant Financial, Huang will lead business operations and growth in the region to further strengthen Alipay’s payments platform leadership through enabling cross-border transactions.

Source: Alipay. Dr Huang.

Huang's appointment reinforces Ant Financial’s mission to leverage Alibaba’s online marketplace success to benefit brick-and-mortar merchants, and to expand Alipay into the world’s leading payments platform and lifestyle ecosystem in South and Southeast Asia.

To date, Alipay operates in six countries in the South and Southeast Asia region, including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and the Philippines with over 80 financial institutions and payment solution partners and over 70,000 merchants in its ecosystem to enable cross-border payments for Chinese travelling overseas.

Alipay has evolved from a digital wallet to a lifestyle enabler, Ant Financial notes. It is the platform of choice among mainland Chinese travelers and merchants for its reliable and efficient payments and other value-added services such as instant tax refund, competitive exchange rates, consumer credits and fast settlement. The platform also acts as an effective marketing channel for businesses with its sizable reach and viewership.

“It’s an exciting privilege to be driving Alipay’s cross-border business in South and Southeast Asia and helping businesses across retail, travel, hospitality, food and beverage (F&B) connect with Chinese tourists. This is an integral part of Ant Financials’ wider vision to enable businesses globally,” said Huang. “Providing Chinese tourists the seamless payments experience that they enjoy at home is our goal. We will continue to work towards this goal and pursue more cross-border opportunities to grow Alipay into a mobile lifestyle enabler.”

Huang joined Alipay in 2016 as the Head of Marketing and Operations of Southeast Asia. In this role, she successfully established partnerships with Singapore Changi Airport, Thailand King Power Group, Resort World Sentosa Singapore and more. Prior to Alipay, Ms. Huang has had close to 15 years of experience in the travel and tourism, hospitality and payments sectors. Her expertise lies in regional business management, marketing and partnerships.