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Mobile payments

Mobile payments
Cash is history. Whether its ordering groceries from our smartphone or using it to pay for the bus, these companies and services are changing the way we pay for goods and services.
Foreign tourists handle their smartphones while buying tickets for a performance at a theatre in China’s Chongqing municipality last month. Photo: Xinhua
China travel

Before Apec meeting, China’s mobile-payment overhaul is helping foreigners spend

Smartphone apps such as Alipay and WeChat Pay now link foreign cards and wallets, easing a cashless barrier that has long frustrated international visitors.

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India

What can Asia, Global South learn from India’s new digital payment fee?

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Tencent

Tencent launches payment app for foreign visitors ahead of Apec summit

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Ant Group

Fintech giant Ant Group restructures Alipay around AI agents to drive growth

Agentic commerce is entering a phase of ‘explosive, large-scale growth’, Ant CEO Cyril Han Xinyi said in an internal letter on Monday.

The Ant Group booth at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai, July 17, 2026. Photo: Reuters
China trade

Kazakhstan to launch QR payments with China, expanding yuan’s reach in retail

Planned launch follows existing cooperation between super apps Alipay and Kaspi.kz, letting travellers use home-country app at certain merchants without exchanging cash.

Ant Group

Ant to let AI agents shop via 10 digital wallets, from AlipayHK to Starryblu

With open-source release of Agentic Mobile Protocol and deals with credit-card giants, company bids for key role in global standards.

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Ant Group

Ant Group spin-offs pursue independent growth with strategic capital moves

The Chinese fintech giant’s three spin-off units are accelerating their capital-raising efforts after gaining operational autonomy in 2024.

The Ant Group booth at the World Artificial Intelligence Conference in Shanghai on July 17, 2026. Photo: Reuters
Banking & finance

Hongkongers increase cross-border shopping splurges, spending data shows

Price differentials, changing consumer habits make mainland China a ‘major hotspot’ for Hongkongers’ spending, UnionPay International says.

Hong Kong Basic Law

Legal Tales | Legal tender and electronic payments – can we insist on paying in cash?

Answer lies in common law’s approach to concept of legal tender.

China travel

A phone away from home: China urged to provide rental handsets to aid tourists

A think tank says low-end handsets, rentable at border checkpoints and pre-installed with local apps, could narrow ‘digital divide’ for visitors.

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Russian visitors in Shanghai. A think tank is urging authorities to provide inbound visitors with app-loaded local phones to make easier payments in China as their own overseas devices often lack those tools. Photo: Xinhua
Yuan

China accelerates digital yuan push as 26 banks join new cross-border platform

The platform will make it easier to make cross-border e-CNY payments, with banks operating in Brazil, Qatar and Thailand among others already signed up.

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People walk past a sign promoting the digital yuan, or e-CNY, at an expo in Beijing. Photo: Xinhua
Alibaba

Ant International powers new e-wallet in cash-heavy Mexico

The e-wallet may assist small businesses in the Latin American country to build credit history and secure financing, according to Clip.

Brics

Brics to push for intra-currency payments as ‘immunity’ against Western clout

New Delhi has to be wary of any move to challenge the US dollar as it seeks to sign an interim trade deal with Washington, analysts say.

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Hong Kong transport

40,000 taxi drivers sign up for e-payment systems as new rules come into force

Widespread coverage is good news ahead of coming holiday for mainland visitors who have solely been using e-wallets for years.

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Hong Kong mandated that taxi drivers provide at least two digital payment options from April 1. Photo: Jelly Tse
Hong Kong transport

Over 47,000 cabbies adopt Octopus, card readers ahead of e-payment deadline

New measures require taxi drivers to provide at least two e-payment options, as part of broader government push to modernise industry image.

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An industry leader has said Hong Kong cabbies are embracing the digital payment era. Photo: Jelly Tse
Hong Kong transport

‘Keep the change’ no more: Hong Kong taxi drivers prepare for shift to e-payments

City’s cabbies required to provide at least two e-payment options by April 1, as part of industry effort to improve service quality.

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China economy

Opinion | Talk of digital yuan challenging dollar dominance misses real power shift

China is merely building parallel capabilities. Whether the systems remain complementary or become competitive depends on how others respond.

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Hong Kong economy

Architect of Hong Kong’s Octopus card retires with dreams of ‘tap-free’ access

Chief operations officer Sammy Kam and marketing director Rita Li look back on the highs and lows of their careers in a cutting-edge company.

Rita Li, the sales and marketing director for Octopus, and chief operations officer Sammy Kam hold up items of memorabilia at their office in Kowloon Bay. Photo: Edmond So
Yuan

China expands digital-yuan push to Singapore and Asean trade routes

PBOC pledges to integrate e-CNY into the New International Land-Sea Trade Corridor, boost adoption in Southeast Asia via China’s CIPS payment network.

Ant Group

Alipay+ announces sponsorship deal with WNBA team New York Liberty

The sponsorship follows the designation earlier this month of Liberty player Sabrina Ionescu as Ant International’s global brand ambassador.

Ant Group

Ant International signs WNBA star Sabrina Ionescu as brand ambassador

Payments firm says star player ‘embodies the spirit of perseverance’ driving young people and small businesses to ‘uplift their communities’.

Sabrina Ionescu of the New York Liberty warms up prior to a game against the Chicago Sky on September 11, 2025, in Chicago. Photo: Getty Images via AFP
Artificial intelligence

Big Tech firms bet big on AI glasses, as Ant offers iris authentication

Heavyweights including Alibaba, Baidu and Xiaomi are vying to dominate what a market research firm calls a ‘war of 100 smart glasses’.

Chinese electronics makers Xiaomi and Meizu will be the first to offer Ant’s AI-based iris verification feature. Photo: Handout
Ant Group

Ant Digital warns of fake tokens as crypto scams persist in Hong Kong

The Ant Group affiliate says it has not issued any token on any blockchain.

Blockchain

Crypto cooperation between Hong Kong, mainland China to benefit sector: experts

The mainland already leads in fintech growth, while Hong Kong is at the forefront of crypto regulation.

Smartwatches

Meet Little Genius, the smartwatch brand ruling China’s playgrounds

With their precise location-tracking features and kid-friendly ecosystem, Little Genius devices have captured a niche market.

Little Genius smartwatches displayed at a store in Shanghai. Photo: Wency Chen
Hong Kong economy

Hong Kong travellers demand refunds after Octopus service glitches in Japan

New service faces backlash as users report frequent system malfunctions, payment failures and double charges.

Hong Kong travellers using the Octopus app’s new cross-border payment PayPay service in Japan have reported frequent system problems. Photo: Reuters
Hong Kong economy

How Hongkongers can use Octopus for payments in Japan and what the perks are

The Post unpacks the steps required to make payments through Octopus, along with benefits and limitations.

Stablecoins

Trump-led venture lauds USD1 stablecoin’s potential for ‘dollarising the world’

At the Token2049 event in Singapore, World Liberty Financial says it will launch a debit card in the fourth quarter or early in 2026.

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