Asia

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.

Singapore-based ride-sharing company Grab is looking to expand its reach in Indonesia through its acquisition of Kudo, an e-commerce platform for unbanked consumers who would be unable to use Grab's own digital payment platform.

For London-based fintech provider Tramonex, seeing so many Chinese tourists visiting the U.K. meant a chance to join the success of WeChat Pay. But how to accomplish this was less clear.

There's been a lot of funding flowing into technology that targets the spending of Chinese travelers as they visit other countries. But this narrow use case isn't the only opportunity for investment and innovation.

Australia's government says the country's large banks cannot collectively bargain with Apple over terms of support for Apple Pay, ending a public battle between Apple and the banks that has lasted at least a year.

Wells Fargo & Co. is expanding its ExpressSend remittance payout network in India to include Axis Bank and, beginning next month, expanding a free-transfer promotion previously available only for those sending at least $500.

WeChat, China’s most popular social media and messaging service, has launched a new bid in Europe and the U.S. to develop its payments offering and win new advertisers.