Ant Builds a Mobile Payment Network as an Alternative to Visa, Mastercard

Five years after the Chinese government quashed Ant Group’s plans for what would have been the world’s largest initial public offering, the Chinese fintech giant has built a fast-growing international business. That offshoot runs a global payment network for digital wallets that could one day be a formidable alternative to Visa or Mastercard.

Ant International increased revenue between 20% and 25% in 2025 to an estimated $3.7 billion, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. That’s almost 10% of Ant Group’s overall revenue in 2025, the person added. In 2019, when Ant last disclosed its full-year financials, its international business had less than $1 billion in revenue, or around 5% of Ant’s total.