Saudi Fintech barq Taps Alipay+ to Launch Cross-Border QR Payments for 12 Million Users
The fast-growing Saudi app becomes the first Alipay+ partner in the Middle East to enable outbound cross-border QR payments.
Saudi financial app barq has launched global cross-border QR payments in partnership with Alipay+, becoming the first Alipay+ payment partner in the Middle East to enable outbound cross-border QR transactions. The rollout was announced on 30 April 2026, with the service set to reach barq users progressively from May.
The partnership connects more than 12 million barq users to a large international merchant network. Through Alipay+, which links over two billion user accounts across some 50 international payment partners to more than 150 million merchants globally, barq customers travelling abroad will be able to pay by scanning QR codes at participating merchants using their home app.
barq, led by a former STC Pay chief executive, has grown quickly since launching in Saudi Arabia, building a consumer base around everyday payments and money transfers. The Alipay+ integration extends its utility beyond domestic transactions and positions the app as a travel-payments option for Saudi users heading to markets across Asia and beyond.
The launch lands as Gulf fintechs race to add cross-border capabilities, whether through remittance rails, card networks or QR interoperability, to keep users inside their apps for a wider range of spending. Enabling outbound QR payments gives barq a differentiator in a crowded Saudi market and taps rising outbound travel and tourism from the Kingdom.
For Alipay+, the deal marks a notable regional milestone, adding a large Saudi consumer wallet as an outbound partner and expanding the reach of its cross-border acceptance scheme in the Middle East.