Asia

Competition between card networks, tech titans Facebook and Google, Chinese fintech proxies Paytm and Hike, and M-Pesa will be fierce, and offer signs how other large emerging payments markets may evolve, writes Eric Grover, a principal at Intrepid Ventures.

Meituan Dianping, China’s largest group-buying and restaurant reviews service, is said to be close to finalizing a deal to raise at least $3 billion from investors including Capital Group, according to people familiar with the matter.

New policies in China and Hong Kong may be a way to clear the path for those issuers that wish to launch legally compliant and responsible token sales, writes Joshua Ashley Klayman, an attorney at Morrison Foerster.

Alipay has entered agreements with Nordic trade and tourism institutions to further enable merchants in that region to accept payments from Chinese customers through Alipay's in-app marketing program.

An integration with transfer company bux will remove navigation and manual processes for remittances to India.

Menusifu receives a $3 million round to boost a system that integrates with Alipay and WeChat Pay, enabling Chinese travelers to make direct payments with renminbi from Chinese bank accounts and digital wallets.

China’s crackdown on cryptocurrency exchanges raises questions about the future of digital asset innovation, a movement that some bankers view as a threat and others embrace as a boon to payments, P-to-P lending and other activities.

SBI Ripple Asia has formed a partnership with Dayli Intelligence to build a presence across Asia.

The preparations underscore the trouble Chinese buyers face in persuading the panel that investigates foreign acquisitions to greenlight takeovers.

HSBC has been implementing biometric techniques for customer authentication, including voice recognition and Touch ID.