Asia

India’s digital payments pioneer Paytm announced new funding from existing shareholders like SoftBank Group Corp.’s Vision Fund and new investors, as competition in the country’s finance sector heats up.

Alibaba’s gigantic stock debut in Hong Kong gives it extra fuel to become a global payments empire.

For decades card networks and issuers outside of China have tried to enter the giant Chinese consumer payments markets, but mostly have run into walls because of shifting regulations.

EML has agreed to pay £226 million (US$290 million) to acquire Prepaid Financial Services, one of Europe’s largest e-money issuers.

China wants to balance functionality with concerns about anonymity as it works toward launching a digital version of the yuan, according to an official from the People’s Bank of China.

Singapore OCBC Bank will use Google Pay to support P2P transactions starting early in 2020, following a similar path as India, where banks have increasingly embraced Google Pay for transfers.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. will spend $3.3 billion to raise its stake in Cainiao, in an effort to exert more control over the logistics subsidiary that underpins its sprawling e-commerce empire.

Ant Financial’s Alipay now allows international visitors to China to pay using its popular mobile app, following up from its aggressive campaign to expand Alipay’s acceptance around the world for Chinese visitors.

Card processor i2C Inc. has formed an alliance with Ecard, a prepaid debit card targeting travelers that's accepted on both Discover and China’s UnionPay network.

Finabler’s Xpress Money cross-border transfer service has partnered with Geoswift to enable consumers in global markets to send funds in real time to Chinese bank accounts.