Alibaba signs up brands for QR-like dotless visual codes
Chinese ecommerce giant Alibaba has launched a platform for brands and product manufacturers that will enable them to place “dotless visual codes” on product packaging so that consumers can scan to...
View ArticleFace++ raises $25m for selfie payments
Face++, the Chinese facial recognition technology startup behind Alibaba’s selfie payments service, has secured an additional $25m in a series B funding round, taking the total raised to $47m. Existing...
View ArticleAlibaba and Ant Financial invest nearly $1bn in Koubei mobile commerce platform
Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba and Alipay parent Ant Financial have each invested RMB3bn (US$483m) into Koubei, a joint venture that will let consumers order and pay for local services in China using...
View ArticleKFC China restaurants to accept Alipay mobile payments next month
Nearly 5,000 KFC China fast food restaurants will accept Alipay mobile payments next month, following in the footsteps of Walmart which is rolling out support for the service in all of its Chinese...
View ArticleAlipay 9 launches with support for Koubei merchant payments and P2P transfers
Ant Financial has released a new version of its Alipay app for iOS and Android, adding new Friends and Merchants tabs that provide support for peer-to-peer payments and for Koubei, the US$1bn mobile...
View ArticleReserve 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......
View ArticleChina 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. “If payment...
View ArticleMcDonald’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. The...
View ArticleChina’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...
View ArticleAlibaba 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...
View ArticleNoor 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...
View ArticleIndia’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. “The structure of the executive committee for the payments bank is...
View ArticleAlipay 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. “Ant...
View ArticleGlobal 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...
View ArticleSamsung 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. “The partnership with Alipay will allow Samsung Pay...
View ArticleAlibaba 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. Read...
View ArticleAlibaba developing VR mobile payments
Chinese internet giant Alibaba is developing virtual reality-enabled mobile payment technology, according to China Daily. The company is working on a project that would “allow users to pay bills in a...
View ArticleAnt 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. “People using virtual reality...
View ArticleGemalto 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...
View ArticleAlipay 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. “The two companies will work together...
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