Chinese mobile payment apps launch in Vancouver, Toronto — The Globe and Mail — “OTT Financial Inc is working with Chinese Internet giants Tencent and Alibaba to introduce their mobile-payment infrastructure in Canada. The two apps, WeChat Pay and Alipay, are linked with users’ credit cards and allows them to make payments in renminbi, which is then converted to Canadian dollars before it’s transferred to merchants.”
Alibaba
At Alibaba, artificial intelligence is changing how people shop online
At Alibaba, artificial intelligence is changing how people shop online — Alizila — “Alibaba is spreading artificial intelligence throughout its core e-commerce operations, making it a cornerstone technology to speed the arrival of what company officials envision to be the future of not only e-commerce, but all commerce.”
Paytm raises $1.4 billion from SoftBank to expand user base
Paytm raises $1.4 billion from SoftBank to expand user base — Bloomberg — “The funding into One97 Communications, which operates the Paytm brand, will help the startup expand its user base of 220 million and build a large offering of financial services products… Alibaba and its payments affiliate Ant Financial held a 40 percent stake in One97 before this investment.”
Tencent extends WeChat Pay to the US with focus on Chinese tourists
Tencent extends WeChat Pay to the US with focus on Chinese tourists — South China Morning Post — “WeChat Pay’s US launch is the company’s latest globalisation push as both Tencent and Alibaba seek to expand overseas amid their intensified mobile payment competition at home.”
Chinese third-party payment providers face client cash regulation
The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is to ban third-party payment providers, such as Alibaba-owned Alipay, from using their clients’ money, China Daily reports... More
Alipay heads to Australia with Commonwealth Bank
Alipay has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Commonwealth Bank of Australia to enable in-store and online payments for Chinese tourists in Australia... More
Gemalto and Alibaba to secure IoT market in China
PARTNER NEWS: Digital security giant Gemalto is to provide connectivity and security to Alibaba’s YunOS internet of things (IoT) operating system which is “widely integrated” into mobile devices, and chips and sensors in connected cars and smart homes, across China... More
Ant Financial readying VR payments
Alibaba affiliate and Alipay parent company Ant Financial is readying a virtual reality (VR) payment experience that will allow shoppers to pay with a nod of the head... More
Alibaba developing VR mobile payments
Chinese internet giant Alibaba is developing virtual reality-enabled mobile payment technology, according to China Daily... More
Alibaba unveils connected car with Alipay mobile payments
Chinese internet giant Alibaba has unveiled a new “internet car” that will let drivers make mobile payments from their seat using affiliate company Ant Financial’s Alipay mobile payment platform. More
Samsung Pay expected to enable support for Alipay
Samsung and Chinese internet giant Alibaba are to announce a collaboration on mobile payment systems this week, according to Yonhap News Agency... More
Global mobile payment market to hit $620bn in 2016
Consumers across the globe will use their mobile phones to spend a total of US$620bn on all forms of mobile transaction this year, representing a 37.8% year-on-year growth from $450bn in 2015, research from TrendForce reveals. By 2017, total mobile payment revenue will reach $780bn, climbing to $930bn in 2018 and $1.08tn in 2019. More
Alipay parent seeks $1.5bn investment
Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial, owner of mobile payment platform Alipay, is seeking an investment of at least 10bn yuan (US$1.5bn) ahead of a planned initial public offering, Bloomberg reports... More
India’s Paytm moves into banking
Indian mobile wallet provider Paytm is to hire 3,000 people to roll out its payments bank services by the first quarter of next year... More
Noor Bank offers wearable payments in Dubai
UAE’s Noor Bank and Yvolv, a joint venture between Alibaba and Dubai holding company Meraas, have introduced Yvo, a mobile app that allows users to make in-store payments using mobile phones and wristbands... More
Alibaba and Ant Financial make “strategic investment” in India’s Paytm
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial are to make a “strategic investment” believed to be worth some US$680m in Indian mobile payment platform Paytm through an agreement with its parent company One97 Communications... More
China’s FiiSmart to develop smartwatch that supports Alipay
Shenzhen-based wearable device maker FiiSmart has launched a campaign on ecommerce giant Alibaba’s Taobao Crowdfunding website for a smartwatch that will support Ant Financial’s mobile payment platform Alipay and allow its wearers to make payments by generating a QR-code that can then be scanned at the point-of-sale... More
McDonald’s to accept Alipay in more than 2,100 restaurants in China
Chinese customers of fast food chain McDonald’s will soon be able to use Ant Financial’s Alipay QR code mobile payment platform to pay for their food and drink in more than 2,100 restaurants... More
China moves to open up mobile payments services
People’s Bank of China has proposed new regulations that could force internet companies Alibaba, Tencent and Baidu to offer each others’ online payment services alongside their own... More
Reserve Bank of India asked to increase mobile wallet limit
One97 Communications, owner of mobile payment platform Paytm, has asked Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to increase the limit on money that can be kept in a mobile wallet to Rs 25,000 (US$393) from Rs 10,000 (US$157)... More