Global Interoperability for Digital Wallets
The OpenWallet Foundation wants to change the status quo by facilitating global interoperability for digital wallets through creation of open-source software.
Region: Asia–Pacific
Digital Currency Update
Brazil’s central bank announced it would launch a CBDC pilot, with public testing taking place at the end of 2024. Bybit, a digital currency exchange, launched a Mastercard debit card for customers in Europe. Users will be able to spend from several digital currencies with automatic conversion to fiat at the point of sale, as […]
BNPL Investments & Acquisition Deals
Since January 2022 there have been 39 transactions in the buy now, pay later (BNPL) industry in 20 countries. Among those transactions, 35 were investments or credit facility deals and 4 were acquisitions. The acquisitions were: UK-based Zopa Bank acquired UK-based BNPL provider DivideBuy, Japan-based MUFG Bank acquired 70% of Japan-based BNPL provider Kanmu, FinAccel […]
OpenWay SaaS Platform for CaaS Providers
Operating from the cloud allows OpenWay and its customers to use Way4 to offer a dedicated SaaS, including those wanting to offer their clients a Cards-as-a-Service platform.
ACI Adds Instant Pay for A2A Payments
Instant Pay is an account-to-account payment service that can be accessed via a single integration.
Global Network Card Brands US — 2022
Consumer and commercial credit, debit and prepaid cards issued in the US carrying the American Express, Discover, Mastercard and Visa brands generated $9.563 trillion in purchase volume in 2022, an increase of 13.0% over 2021.
Digital Currency Update
Reliance Retail, India’s largest retailer, is participating in the Reserve Bank of India’s CBDC pilot. The company has partnered with ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank and Innoviti to accept digital rupees at the point of sale.
New SE Asia Ecommerce Fraud Ring
Ecommerce sites in the US and Asia-Pacific lost an estimated $700 million in fraudulent sales to criminals in Southeast Asia during the fourth quarter of 2022. Operating mainly from Malaysia, Vietnam and Indonesia, the fraudsters targeted sellers of smartphones, computers and semiconductor chips.
Palm Vein Biometrics from Ingenico and Fujitsu
Among biometric modalities used to authenticate payments in a merchant’s checkout lane, including fingerprints, facial scans and iris scans, palm vein identification has notable advantages. Not only is every person’s pattern of veins unique, but the existing technology available to read veins in the human palm is more accurate than with any of the other methods.
Investments in Merchant Acquiring, Processing—2022
The tables shown here list 123 investments (seed, venture, strategic, private equity and debt funding) in 37 countries in the merchant acquiring and processing sector of the payment card industry in 2022.
