Alibaba’s Ant Group has bought a majority stake in Singapore-headquartered global payments platform 2C2P, which it says will expand its cross-border payments reach and connect more than one billion consumers globally.

Ant Group owns and operates Alipay, the leading digital payment platform in China. Under this deal, 2C2P’s pool of merchants will be connected with Alipay+, a range of global cross-border digital payments and marketing solutions.

Angel Zhao, president of Ant Group’s International Business Group, said the partnership combines Alipay+ and 2C2P’s secure and comprehensive payment offerings, extensive merchant coverage, and deep local knowledge of the region.

“We look forward to supporting businesses’ digitalisation together and creating a connected digital ecosystem across markets in the region,” she said in a statement

2C2P already covers key markets in Asia including Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, offering payment acceptance, issuing, and other payment solutions to merchants in e-commerce, financial services, airlines, travel, hospitality, and retail.

“Through this complementary partnership with Ant Group, 2C2P will be connected to a much larger merchant base and be well-positioned to advance our international expansion strategy,” said 2C2P founder and chief executive Aung Kyaw Moe.

“I am confident that 2C2P will be able to scale new heights, and build an unparalleled and robust range of payment solutions that deliver maximum value and impact to our merchants and partners.”

In another regional deal to scale up access to cross-border transactions, Singapore-based global payments platform Thunes has taken a majority stake in cloud-based, anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance technology firm Tookitaki for more than US$20 million (S$27.3 million).

“This alliance will give all Thunes customers access to next-generation tech compliance systems, reducing the cost of transferring money across borders,” Peter De Caluwe, chief executive of Thunes, said in a statement.

“At the same time, all Tookitaki’s banking and fintech clients will automatically gain access to Thunes’ network, unlocking pathways to scale globally.”

Local regtech start-up Tookitaki tracks more than 180 million transactions annually, and its clients include Grab, Deliveroo, UberEats, Moneygram, Western Union, Remitly, and neobank Revolut.