Through a collaboration between payment superapp Alipay+, part of China’s Ant International, and US payments company Mastercard, users of Kakao Pay, a South Korean mobile wallet, can make near-field communication ( NFC ) payments at over 150 million Mastercard merchant locations worldwide, including in Japan, Southeast Asia, the US, Europe and Oceania.

The Alipay+ NFC payment solution complements Kakao Pay’s existing QR code and barcode-based cross-border payments, further enhancing the travel and shopping experience for its users abroad.

NFC payments allow users to simply tap their NFC-enabled Android phone on a contactless point of sale terminal that accepts Mastercard, a solution, the companies say, that simplifies cross-border commerce, reduces the need for carrying physical payments and ensures transaction security through advanced authentication and encryption.

This service is now available on the latest versions of the Kakao Pay app and will be introduced to the KakaoTalk app for Android later in September, with a sequential rollout planned for iOS ( iPhone ) in the future.

“People today expect payment experiences that are seamless, intuitive and built into the apps they already trust—like Kakao Pay,” notes Sandeep Malhotra, Mastercard’s executive vice-president for core payments in Asia-Pacific. “Through this partnership, we are making overseas payments simpler and more secure for Korean users when they travel.”

Douglas Feagin, Ant International’s predient, adds: “Alipay+ aims to empower our mobile payment partners like Kakao Pay to reach more markets and deliver secure and convenient payment services to users. By working with Mastercard, we are expanding digital payment acceptance to millions of merchants worldwide.”