Asia

The company's original markets are India and China, but it plans to reach 10 major markets for B-to-B cross-border payments in the next year.

U.K.-based TransferWise has enabled online customer verification at its new Asia Pacific base in Singapore, so users need not visit an office to set up an account with TransferWise's cross-border funds-transfer service.

TransferWise Ltd., the London-based startup backed by investors including Peter Thiel’s Valar Ventures and Andreessen Horowitz, is bringing its international money transfer service to Singapore, aiming to shake up banks’ dominance of the market.

One of Australia’s largest banks, Westpac, is the first of the country’s biggest four banks to adopt Samsung Pay, expanding customers’ contactless mobile payment options.

Future Retail Ltd., India’s biggest department store chain that gained from the government’s surprise currency clampdown, still has room to extend the rally that’s more than doubled its market value this year.

Jack Ma’s Ant Financial Services Group has deep enough pockets to win the bidding war against Euronet Worldwide for MoneyGram, but money may not be the deciding factor in this deal.

Despite some mixed signals, the Chinese government has shown a willingness to loosen restrictions on imports. That would be good news for international payments players.

Companies that allow merchants to quickly set up card acceptance through mobile technology are rushing to fill a void in the Indian market following the country's dramatic shift in cash policy.

Australian regulations recently denied banks the right to negotiate with Apple Inc. to directly add Apple Pay to their digital apps, but the victory may do little for Apple, considering consumers in the country appear to have little interest in using mobile wallets.

As more of China's citizens engage in travel and commerce across the nation's borders, more companies want to help them pay and collect money. Many of China's dominant payment brands are extending their reach globally, but U.S. and European companies are also focused on this audience.