Alipay launched the first version of its mobile payment app not to execute transactions in its home currency of the Chinese Yuan, a move it said is an important step in widening the reach of the service.

Reuters reported the company, owned by Ant Financial, would make the new version of its Hong Kong app called AlipayHK available today, with 2,000 stores in the region able to process transactions in Hong Kong Dollars.

Alipay’s user base, mostly located in mainland China, are already able to use the service throughout Hong Kong and in many other popular tourist destinations around the world, but previously transactions were only processed using Chinese Yuan.

Ant Financial’s head of global business Douglas Feagin told the news website making transactions available in other currencies was part of the company’s goal to bring its service to a greater number of markets.

Last week media reports in the US revealed the company was actively looking at new opportunities outside of its home market and was assessing a number of partnership investments, having already inked deals with companies in Indonesia, South Korea, Thailand and the Philippines.

In addition to partnering on country-specific app launches, the company has agreements in place with retailers across Europe and the US to accept payments from its Chinese platform.