Asia

By now most of the world knows of the disruption India's monetary system has undergone as its government discourages paper cash and pushes digital alternatives, stopping short of outright forcing the issue. But there's another challenge within the market.

The Indian government's major change in cash policy and push for digital payments attracted the Chinese company to increase its stake in India's Paytm.

JD.com Inc. agreed to sell its finance arm for 14.3 billion yuan ($2.1 billion) in cash while retaining a share of its future profits, part of a deal to spin off the fast-growing division and create a strong rival to billionaire Jack Ma’s Ant Financial.

A broad pilot to test contactless open-loop payments on Singapore's trains and buses will go live March 20, according to local mass-transit authorities and Mastercard, which is sponsoring the initiative.

Digital payments can make travel payments easier and boost financial services in emerging markets. In some cases, it's doing both.

The battle between banks and Apple Pay in Australia has global implications, but there is a notable rift within the banks' ranks that drives home just who benefits and who suffers by Apple getting its way.

Blockchain, the technology behind bitcoin, is increasingly seen as a way to cut costs for international payments.

China’s Ant Financial, an affiliate of Alibaba, is continuing its acquisition spree by purchasing stakes two digital payments firms, including South Korea’s Kakao Pay and the Philippines’ Mynt.

India's latest government-supported payments initiative, Bharat QR, officially launched on Monday, aiming to provide an interoperable mobile payments platform linking small merchants and consumers across channels via several major card payment networks.

While Apple battles a group of large Australian banks over terms of its mobile payments app, it has entered separate deals with ING Direct and Macquarie.