Asia

Swift completed a seven-country trial of its cross-border GPI Instant payment service resulting in the successful integration with Singapore’s domestic instant payment network FAST.

The system has made it easier for mobile wallets and other technology providers to enter India's payments market, and will push the next steps toward real-time payments and cash reduction, says Somya Patnaik, senior product manager at ACI Worldwide.

Transit systems are attracting contactless payment technology, but there are other options on the horizon that could make boarding easier than tapping a card or smartphone — provided riders are comfortable with an experience like something out of Minority Report.

Indian consumers and businesses would be best served if New Delhi confined itself to discrete interventions to reduce structural barriers to payments competition, rather than imposing price controls, dispensing subsidies and promoting national favorites, says Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Ventures.

Merchants outside of China who have the QR code technology to accept Alipay and WeChat Pay are part of a growing trend to serve Chinese tourists who are comfortable paying via their smartphones.

Samsung has reached an agreement with an online marketplace for financial products in India that will allow consumers to apply for credit cards and loans through the Samsung Pay app.

Facebook Inc has no plans to offer its Calibra digital wallet services in its largest market, India, the social giant said, just as a top government official expressed skepticism about its newly-announced cryptocurrency Libra.

The U.S. card brands are already pushing Indian regulators to relax their data storage rules, and a new quirk in the country’s tax code creates a battle on an entirely different front.

The latest skepticism to Facebook Inc.’s plans for its new cryptocurrency called Libra comes from India as Asia’s third-largest economy is not keen on allowing the digital currency in the country.

FamilyMart and 7-Eleven Japan are using mobile payment technology to compete with each other and attempt to manage the country's labor shortage.