China’s Whale Cloud Teams With Mexico’s Toka FinTech to Develop Payment App

China-based Whale Cloud, which provides telecommunications software solutions, has partnered with Toka Fintech, based in Mexico, to develop a new digital payment app with Alipay+ Digital Wallet Solution, according to a press release.

Whale Cloud and Ant Group will help Toka Fintech develop the app, which will be designed specifically for the Latin America market, the release stated. The goal of the app is to provide financial inclusion for businesses and customers in Mexico via digitalized and personalized services.

Toka Fintech belongs to Grupo Toka, a prepaid card giant with over 4.5 million customers, according to the release. Grupo Toka has been offering more digital payment services since the pandemic engendered a wider adoption of smartphones.

“As a company that aims to continuously create value for customers, Toka Fintech is taking the lead in encouraging the use of innovative technologies in the delivery of financial services,” Toka Fintech CEO and Owner Hugo Villanueva said in the release.

Meanwhile, Whale Cloud CEO International Ben Zhou said in the release that Toka Fintech would end up being the first Latin American company to use Alipay+ Digital Wallet solution.

And Cheng Guoming, general manager of Alipay+ Global Partnership with Ant Group, said in the release that the goal is to “accelerate customers’ digital transformation and help underbanked communities across the world enjoy more inclusive services.”

Earlier this month, Alibaba President of North America and Europe John Caplan told PYMNTS that when it comes to supply chains, demand from end consumers is high, logistics are snarled, container ships line up outside ports and factories, and trucking firms are short-staffed.

Read more: The Age of the B2B Digital Marketplace Is Upon Us

“It used to be that these firms would run their businesses in an analog way with ‘a little bit’ of digital,” he said. “But now being fully digital is a strategic imperative for [small businesses], whether you’re a buyer or seller of goods to other businesses around the world.”