E-commerce

Alibaba Taps Payments Firm WorldFirst To Boost Singapore SMEs’ Overseas Expansion

Alibaba Group’s B2B marketplace Alibaba.com has partnered with WorldFirst, a international payments platform, to help Singapore’s small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) bolster their digital presence and expand their sales internationally.

WorldFirst will become Alibaba.com’s official channel partner in Singapore, helping local sellers gain access to the 26 million buyers from over 200 countries and regions on the platform.

Through the partnership, WorldFirst will help the SMEs assess how best to leverage Alibaba.com and further assist them in navigating the platform’s variety of services.

This includes registration, setting up and running their online stores as well as conducting online marketing campaigns together with certified Alibaba.com partners.

WorldFirst said that sellers will be able to conduct fast, convenient, and cost-effective cross-border payments through its platform.

Founded in 2004, WorldFirst is a London-based payments business helping small businesses move money around the world. Since 2019 it has been part of Ant Group, an affiliate of Alibaba.

Peter Scully

“Singapore’s exports have remained resilient amid the uncertainties and will continue to ride on the global trade recovery, and our timely partnership will allow WorldFirst and Alibaba.com to connect Singapore’s dynamic SMEs to millions of potential buyers across the world.

Our partnership with Alibaba.com is a testament to our shared commitment to helping local SMEs thrive online as well as offline, and benefit from the huge opportunities that exist in the international market.”

said Peter Scully, Country Manager, WorldFirst Singapore.

Andrew Zheng

“Alibaba.com has always been committed to supporting Singapore’s SME exporters with our digital solutions and this new partnership with WorldFirst will further expand our offerings to them to include digital cross-border payment tools.

We hope that this joint effort makes exporting to the world even more accessible for Singapore business, especially amid Covid-19.”

said Andrew Zheng, Deputy General Manager of Alibaba.com.