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August 15, 2025

On the wires

RayNeo and Ant Group Forge Strategic Partnership to Advance AR Glasses Innovations in Payments and Beyond

Business Wire

"RayNeo X3 Pro AR glasses are the first to support payments through both the merchant terminal and QR code, powered by Alipay’s multidimensional risk-control solution for AR glasses.The two parties will expand AR glasses applications across various daily services, with the goal of making AR glasses an essential part of daily life and a true personal assistant on the go."

August 13, 2025

On the web

China Eyes RMB Stablecoin To Challenge Dollar Dominance After CBDC Plans Stall

CCN

"After years of promoting its central bank digital currency (CBDC), China is quietly changing course. The e-CNY, once touted as the future of digital payments in the country, has lost momentum. This is due in part to slow adoption and a recent corruption scandal involving its key architect. Now, officials are warming up to a more flexible alternative: stablecoins."

July 2, 2025

On the web

The Yuan's Digital Leap: Betting on China's Stablecoin Ambitions in a Dollar-Dominated World

AInvest

"The global financial system is on the cusp of a seismic shift as China accelerates its push to tokenize the yuan through digital currency initiatives. With the U.S. dollar still dominating 80% of global payments, Beijing's efforts to internationalize the yuan via its digital counterpart—the e-CNY (digital yuan)—and yuan-backed stablecoins are no mere technical experiment."

June 23, 2025

On the wires

Alipay+ Launches World’s First Smart Glasses-Embedded Payment Solution

Business Wired

"After Alipay debuted a smart glasses payment solution with Rokid in China, Alipay+, the unified wallet gateway service under Ant International, announced the Alipay+ smart glasses-embedded payment solution for global e-wallets. In collaboration with Meizu, a global industry leader, Alipay+ completed the world's first real-world smart glasses-embedded e-wallet payment transaction in Hong Kong."

June 19, 2025

Top Post

June 18, 2025

On the web

CIPS Signs Direct Participant Agreements With Six Foreign Institutions, Facilitating Use of Yuan in Cross-Border Transactions

Global Times

"China's Cross-Border Interbank Payment System (CIPS) signed direct participant agreements with six foreign institutions in Shanghai, marking the first time that the system's overseas foreign direct participant coverage extends to offshore yuan centers in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, and Singapore, which will facilitate the use of the yuan in cross-border transactions, China Media Group reported."

On the wires

China Talks up Digital Yuan in Push for Multi-Polar Currency System

Reuters

"The head of China's central bank pledged to expand the international use of the digital yuan and called for the development of a multi-polar global currency system, where several currencies dominate the world economy. China will establish an international operation centre for e-CNY in Shanghai, People's Bank of China Governor Pan Gongsheng said on Wednesday at the Lujiazui Forum, a high-profile gathering of local and foreign financial industry executives and regulators."

April 16, 2025

On the web

China, Vietnam Promote Interconnectivity of QR Code Payments

YiCaiglobal

"China and Vietnam have agreed to promote cross-border QR code payments, based on the consensus reached by the two countries’ central banks on two-way connectivity cooperation. China UnionPay International, National Payment Corporation of Vietnam, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, and Vietcombank, signed a deal on April 14 to promote reciprocal acceptance of QR code payments, the People’s Bank of China announced yesterday."

March 14, 2025

On the web

Rise of Digital Wallets Integrating Payments and Digital Identities Across Asia

Biometric Update

Digital payment wallets are advancing financial transactions, with China’s Alipay and WeChat Pay, India’s Paytm and PhonePe, and Indonesia’s GoPay leading the way in mobile payments. Some countries are now linking digital identity and payments, including China Alipay’s digital ID integration, Singapore SingPass’ financial services extension, and India’s Aadhaar-linked united payment interface (UPI) wallets to create a single digital landscape.

February 5, 2025

On the wires

Alipay Records Surge of China Inbound and Outbound Travel Spending During the 2025 Chinese New Year

Business Wire

"During the 2025 Chinese New Year, Alipay recorded a significant increase in China’s outbound and inbound travel spending. Through the Alipay+ cross-border mobile payment and digitalization solutions, Chinese travelers, along with users of the other 34 e-wallets in Asia and Europe, can use their own home payment app across 66 markets without the need to exchange currency or carry cash."

January 17, 2025

On the web

January 16, 2025

On the web

January 15, 2025

On the web

January 14, 2025

On the web

January 6, 2025

On the web

January 2, 2025

On the web

Unionpay and Weixin Pay Expand Payment Options for Tourists in China

IBS Intelligence

"UnionPay International and Weixin Pay have partnered to allow users of international UnionPay-powered wallets to scan Weixin Pay payment codes in the Chinese mainland. Eight wallets are now able to offer this feature, namely BoC Pay from Bank of China (Hong Kong), Octopus, PayMe by HSBC, and Tap & Go in Hong Kong SAR; Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking and K PLUS from KASIKORNBANK in Thailand; Naver Pay in South Korea; and ICBC Mobile Banking (ICBC Pay) in Malaysia."

December 2, 2024

On the web

November 11, 2024

On the web

October 22, 2024

On the web

October 11, 2024

On the web

One in Eight Chinese People Have a Digital RMB Wallet

Ledger Insights

"Mu Changchun, head of the Digital Currency Research Institute at the People’s Bank of China (PBoC), provided an update on the roll out and adoption of its central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot. As of July there were 180 million personal wallets, which represents about one in eight of the 1.4 billion Chinese population. The cumulative transaction volume reached RMB 7.3 trillion."

October 7, 2024

On the web

China’s 2024 National Day Golden Week Sees 60% Rise in Outbound Travel Transactions and 120% Surge in Inbound Spending YoY Via Alipay

Business Wire

"During the 2024 National Day Golden Week, Alipay recorded a significant increase in both China’s outbound and inbound tourism spending. In China, international travelers spent 120% more year-on-year using their international card-enabled Alipay accounts at merchants during the first four days of the National Day holiday. Alipay Tap! saw transaction volume increase by 130% during the holiday compared with the same period in September."

October 3, 2024

On the web

Alibaba’s Taobao Introduces Tencent’s WeChat Pay, Set to Add JD Logistics

China Daily

"Starting Friday, consumers shopping on Alibaba's Taobao platform can now use Tencent's WeChat Pay for transactions, according to an official statement from Taobao. The new payment option allows users to complete purchases with WeChat Pay, and subsequent updates will enable users to access transaction records and bills directly within the WeChat app, WeChat Pay said."

On the wires

September 16, 2024

On the web

China Mulls How to Incentivize CBDC Adoption by Payment Providers, Consumers

Ledger Insights

"We recently reported that China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC), the eCNY, processed $56 billion in transactions in a single month. It reached a cumulative volume of RMB 7 trillion, which is nearing the $1 trillion mark ($932 billion to be precise). However, a fair proportion is business usage. Stories continue to circulate about a lack of consumer enthusiasm for the digital RMB."

September 13, 2024

On the web

September 11, 2024

On the web

September 4, 2024

On the web

July 23, 2024

On the wires

July 12, 2024

On the wires

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