Global

International Visitors to Beijing Can ‘Tap & Go’ With Mastercard Cards to Pay For Rides on Beijing Urban Rail Transit

Mastercard

"Supported by the PBC, the Beijing government, and the city’s urban rail transit system, Mastercard has become the first international payment brand in Chinese mainland to complete system integration and successfully launch the 'Tap & Go' feature for urban rail transit"

Tags: China

Global

Tencent’s WeChat Pay Brings Palm Payments to Macau, Targeting Mainland Chinese Tourists

South China Morning Post

"WeChat Palm Pay lets mainland tourists pay by scanning their hand in shops located in hotels under the Galaxy Entertainment Group"

Tags: China

Global

Alibaba to Allow Payment Through Tencent’s WeChat Pay for the First Time on E-commerce Apps

CNBC

"Chinese tech giant Alibaba said that its core Taobao and Tmall e-commerce platforms will now allow payment through Tencent’s WeChat app for the first time. Previously, Alibaba’s Chinese e-commerce sites only accepted limited payment options and pushed WeChat Pay rival Alipay as one of the main ways to pay."

Tags: China

Global

XTransfer and EBANX Partner to Facilitate B2B Trade Payments in Latin America

PR News Wire

"XTransfer, China's top B2B cross-border trade payment platform, and EBANX, the leading payment platform connecting global companies with customers in Latin America, Africa, and Asia, announced a strategic partnership aimed at streamlining B2B trade payments in Latin America."

Tags: Africa Asia China Latin America

Global

LianLian Global and Guavapay Announce New Global Payment Experience

PR Asia

"LianLian Global and Guavapay have signed a cooperation agreement to jointly create a convenient, efficient and secure global payment experience. The partnership enables people to send money to China through Guavapay's payments app, MyGuava ."

Tags: China

Companies Global

China Asks Visa, Mastercard to Cut Card Fees

"China is pushing for Visa and Mastercard to lower their bank card transaction fees in the country to encourage spending by foreign visitors, Bloomberg News reported, on Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter. The Payment & Clearing Association of China is proposing lowering the fees charged on foreign card transactions to 1.5% from between 2% and 3%, the report said."

Tags: China Mastercard Visa

Global

XTransfer and Banking Circle Announce Strategic Partnership

Banking Circle

"XTransfer, the leading B2B cross-border payment platform from China, and Banking Circle have entered into a strategic partnership. This collaboration aims to reduce the cost and processing time of cross-border payments for XTransfer’s clients, particularly benefiting Chinese suppliers with significant markets in Europe and the Middle East."

Tags: China Europe Middle East

Global

China May Impose Similar Regulations for WeChat as India’s UPI Rules

Business-Standard

"China is planning to introduce a new mobile payment regulation aimed at reducing the market share of Tencent Holdings' WeChat app, similar to efforts made by the National Payments Corporation of India to curb Google Pay and Phone's growing dominance in the market."

Tags: China

Global

Chinese Workers Paid in CBDC Are Cashing It Out for Real Money

Cointelegraph

"Some participants of China’s CBDC pilot program are reportedly hesitant to hold onto the digital yuan, citing a range of concerns with using the state-backed digital currency."

Tags: China

Global

Japan to Collaborate on Chinese Payment Services With Joint QR Code

Nikkei Asia

"Efforts are underway between Japan and other Asian countries to allow mutual access and use of QR code payment services that are popular in their own countries."

Tags: China Japan

Global

Bank of China Lets Taxi Drivers Accept Central Bank Digital Currency Payments on NFC Mobile Phones

NFCW

"The Bank of China is conducting a pilot in the city of Shenzhen of a new service that makes it possible for merchants to accept contactless digital currency payments on standard NFC mobile phones."

Tags: China

Global

China Digital Currency: Qingdao Metro Facilitates E-CNY Payment Even When User Balance Is Too Low

South China Morning Post

"China’s coastal city of Qingdao in Shandong province has launched a new “deferred payment” feature for metro passengers wanting to use digital fiat money: they can exit the station even if the wallet balance is not enough."

Tags: China

Global

Digital Yuan Now Used to Complete Car Prepurchase Payments

Bitcoin News

"The digital yuan, China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), is being used as a security element in car prepurchase payment settlements."

Tags: China

Global

China Sets Final Rules for Alipay, Wechat Pay and Their Peers

Nikkei Asia

"China has approved regulations on nonbank payment institutions, seeking to curb risks in the booming sector by tightening supervision over digital payment service providers including Alipay and WeChat Pay."

Tags: China

Global

UAE Completes First Cross-Border Digital Dirham CDBC Payment Worth $13.6M to China

Yahoo Finance

"The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has successfully completed the first cross-border payment using the Digital Dirham."

Tags: China UAE

Global

Hong Kong to Expand e-CNY Pilot

Finance Asia

"HKMA and the PBOC announced further support for the expansion of use cases of the digital yuan in Hong Kong, targeting local consumers and travellers."

Tags: China Hong Kong

Global

Jack Ma’s Alipay Reign Officially Over, IPO Back on Track

Asia Financial

"China’s central bank has agreed that payment app Alipay no longer has a controller after a sweeping business overhaul of Jack Ma’s Ant Group , the fintech giant that owns the app, putting its long-awaited IPO back on track."

Tags: China

Companies Global

China Tightens Rules for Non-Bank Payment Firms Like Alipay

Asia Financial

"China has announced tough rules for non-banking payment institutions amid an ongoing clampdown on the country’s $57 trillion financial sector."

Tags: Alipay China

Global

Chinese Visitors to Singapore Can Use Digital Yuan CBDC

Ledger Insights

Today the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced an agreement with the People’s Bank of China to allow tourists from either country to use the pilot digital yuan, also known as eCNY.

Tags: China Singapore

Companies Global

Mastercard JV Approved to Begin Domestic Payments Processing in China

"Mastercard announced that its joint venture entity, Mastercard NUCC Information Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd., has received formal approval from the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) and the National Administration of Financial Regulation (NAFR) to commence domestic bankcard clearing activity in China."

Tags: China

Global

PetroChina Completes First International Crude Oil Trade in Digital Yuan: Report

Coindesk

"Chinese oil and gas company PetroChina has completed the first international crude oil trade using the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC), the e-CNY, China Daily reported on Saturday."

Tags: China

Global

China Enables e-CNY Top-Up Using Mastercard and Visa Cards

FinanceFeeds

"The Digital Yuan app in China has been updated to make it easier for tourists to use digital currency during their visits. International tourists can now top up their Digital Yuan wallets using Mastercard or VISA cards before arriving in China."

Tags: China

Global

mBridge CBDC Project Nearing Commercialization

Blockworks

"Eddie Yue, the CEO of Hong Kong’s central bank, expects that the mBridge CBDC project will gradually transition to commercialization. In a keynote speech at the 2023 Bund Summit, he detailed plans for the platform, which China, Thailand, Hong Kong and the United Arab Emirates are jointly developing in partnership with the Bank of International Settlements."

Tags: China Hong Kong Thailand UAE

Global

China's Digital Yuan Head Urges Unification of Alipay, WeChat Pay QR Codes as PBOC Pushes e-CNY Adoption

Yahoo Finance

"China's head of digital yuan is urging mobile payment providers such as WeChat Pay and Alipay to improve their interoperability and unify QR codes for e-CNY payments, as the People's Bank of China (PBOC) aims to promote the country's central bank digital currency (CBDC) across all retail use cases."

Tags: China

Companies Global

WeChat Pay Introduces Palm-Scanning Payment Tech in 7-Eleven Stores in Guangdong [China]

TechNode

On September 5, WeChat Pay announced that its palm payment service is now available at over 1,500 7-Eleven convenience stores in Guangdong province...Its introduction into 7-Eleven stores marks its initial launch in the retail industry in China.

Tags: China WeChat Pay

Global

Rise in Chinese Citizens, Firms Using Digital Yuan to Pay Taxes

Crypto News

"More Chinese citizens and firms are using the digital yuan, China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), to pay their taxes, state organs, and government-owned banks have claimed. Per Xinhuanet, the claims were made by Hunan Province’s Tax Bureau, as well as the Changsha Central branch of the People’s Bank of China (PBoC)."

Tags: China

Companies Global

Microsoft Exploring CBDC Option, As Bank of England Recruits Advisory Group

Tekedia

"Microsoft, the tech giant behind the popular Windows operating system and the Azure cloud platform, has announced that it is exploring the possibility of developing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) solution. Microsoft has partnered with the Digital Currency Institute of the People’s Bank of China, the central bank of China, to conduct research and development on CBDC technology."

Tags: China

Global

UnionPay International Partners with Malaysian Payment Network PayNet to Promote Cross-Border QR Interoperability

PR Newswire

"Today, UnionPay International (UPI) and Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd, or PayNet, Malaysia's national payments network jointly signed an agreement in Shanghai to promote the cross-border QR code linkage and enable the full acceptance of the UnionPay App (Chinese-mainland, Hong Kong and Macao versions) and Chinese-mainland bank apps connected to the UnionPay App Network Payment Platform at the QR merchants in Malaysia."

Tags: China Hong Kong Malaysia

Companies Global

Visa and Mastercard Can Now be Used on China’s Biggest Payment Apps

CNN

"Visiting China just got a whole lot easier for international travelers. Starting Friday, visitors are able to link their Visa and Mastercard accounts to China’s most popular mobile payment platforms, allowing them to book taxis, ride the subway and pay for goods and services at millions of outlets across the near-cashless country."

Tags: China

Global

China’s Digital Yuan Nears $250B Transaction Volume — Central Bank Governor

Cointelegraph

"While the adoption and use cases of China’s central bank digital currency are expanding, the digital yuan still only represents 0.16% of China’s monetary supply."

Tags: China