Asia

To date, Ant's Alipay has been comparable to PayPal, seldom venturing beyond payments. The financial products Alipay plans to pursue as it enters new markets put it more firmly in direct competition with mainstream banks.

Alipay's deal to buy MoneyGram for $880 million may be the centerpiece of its strategy to expand beyond China's borders, but it's not its first move in recent months. The Alibaba payments affiliate has already extended its reach in several other ways.

Ant Financial, the company that operates Alipay, is buying MoneyGram for $880 million, its boldest move yet in a series of partnerships and investments that signal an international ambition.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. raised its full-year sales forecast after quarterly results beat estimates, as Chinese spending stays strong and the company wrings revenue from fledgling areas such as cloud computing, entertainment and search.

UnionPay's collaboration with United Airlines and Planet Payment is the latest salvo in a race among Chinese companies to cater to overseas travelers.

The deployment comes as Singapore is in the midst of a broad digital initiative for the entire city.

The Western Union Company agreed to pay $586 million and admitted to a lapse in anti-money laundering controls in an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department and other U.S. authorities.

UnionPay customers can now transfer funds from Canada to China without fees through a partnership with Canadian bank CIBC.

The Financial Conduct Authority has given the green light to Geoswift, the Hong Kong-based cross-border payments company, to operate collection and settlement services between the U.K. and China.

The online payment service Alipay, an affiliate of Alibaba, is extending its collaboration with luxury travel retailer DFS Group as more Chinese citizens increase their travel frequency to overseas locations.