12 million barq users will be able to pay via app abroad, at Alipay+-enabled merchants. This is the result of the agreement between the Saudi financial app barq and Alipay+, Ant International's unified wallet gateway.
barq is the first Alipay+ payment partner in the Middle East to enable outbound cross-border QR payments, expanding its offering beyond local transactions to enable payment experiences on a global scale.
The service will be rolled out progressively to barq users starting in May 2026.
The partnership aims to support the development of digital payments in line with the Kingdom's Vision 2030 initiative, contributing to the goals of a cashless society and the implementation of a modern digital payment infrastructure in Saudi Arabia.
Alipay+ connects over 2 billion user accounts from 50 international payment partners — including digital wallets and banking apps — to more than 150 million merchants across over 220 markets worldwide.
"Being the first in the Middle East to partner with Alipay+ for payments reflects our ambition to lead the industry," said Ahmed Alenazi, CEO and Founder of barq. "This collaboration allows our customers to pay globally with the same simplicity they experience locally, setting a new benchmark for Saudi fintech and accelerating our vision of connecting users to the global economy."
"We are delighted that Alipay+ is partnering with barq to promote QR payments from the Kingdom, directly supporting Vision 2030's innovation goals," added Pietro Candela, General Manager EMEA of Alipay+. "At Ant International, we remain committed to facilitating cross-border flows, digital inclusion for SMEs, and co-innovation with local partners to accelerate the Kingdom's digital transformation."
