Asia

The simple act of moving money can have a big impact on any political movement, so banks and payment networks are often caught up in issues of national importance. Here are some recent instances where payments and politics came head-to-head.

China's Alipay already has broad global reach—its mobile wallet is accepted at more than 100,000 retail locations in 70 international markets—but in North America it’s just getting started.

The Commonwealth Bank of Australia money-laundering scandal has damaged the public's perception of the whole banking sector, according to the head of the industry's lobby group.

Mastercard and Visa have also opened development centers in India, where digital payments are growing quickly.

Alipay and WeChat Pay have become important drivers in the Chinese economy, putting the central bank in a position to force all third-party payment firms to connect to the new clearinghouse.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is launching a payments collection platform that helps users manage mobile wallets and card payments in China through an arrangement with China UnionPay Merchant Services.

China’s fastest-growing online industry segment in the first half was food delivery, as startups backed by Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. touted discounts and marshaled armies of people to get restaurant meals to the homes of almost 300 million.

Germany-based Payworks is the latest to partner with Ant Financial’s Alipay as it works to expand the base of merchants capable of accepting the popular Chinese online and mobile payments app in Europe.

In the next phase of India’s push to diminish the country’s heavy reliance on cash, the Reserve Bank of India has approved the rollout of a national electronic bill-payment system.

Next month, India Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government will begin amassing a warehouse of virtual information collected not just from traditional sources like banks but also from social media sites, as it looks to match residents’ spending patterns with income declarations, said people familiar with the matter.