China

Given American Express was reporting a 95% hit to one of its core businesses less than two months ago, announcing access to the world’s largest digital payments market has to be a major sigh of relief — even if there’s still entrenched competitors, an international virus and a cold war to navigate.

New York State regulators may bring an enforcement action against the German bank as early as this month; Wells Fargo’s decision to stop making loans to the dealers has more to do with credit quality than asset limits.

As small businesses' cash flow tightens during the pandemic, Alibaba Group is enabling SMBs to postpone payments for 60 days on cross-border e-commerce purchases.

Trends in China such as mobile payments, omnichannel shopping and social commerce show us what a post-coronavirus world could look like for brands and retailers in the U.S., says Azoya International's Franklin Chu.

The shortage of personal protective equipment (PPE) for medical workers is one of the most troublesome elements of the coronavirus outbreak, though prior work to declutter cross-border supply chain payments provides some hope.

Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga says he is certain that science, medicine and innovation will lead the world out of the coronavirus pandemic, but there is little indication of when that will happen.

TransferWise has partnered with Alipay to expand money remittance options for its users to instantly send Chinese yuan to friends and family in China.

Just two months after UnionPay bolstered its support of QR code payments in China through an arrangement with Tencent Holdings Ltd., the company is working with Network International to initiate its first pilot for QR code payments at a merchant location in the UAE.

Alipay, the mobile payment app owned by billionaire Jack Ma, is stepping up its competition with WeChat to get more of its 900 million users to tap expanded services in everything from real estate purchases to restaurant and cinema bookings.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd.’s parcel and meal delivery arms have returned to pre-coronavirus outbreak staffing levels, the latest example of how China’s largest corporations are getting back to work after Beijing’s entreaty to safeguard economic growth.

The global efforts to contain the coronavirus outbreak are leading to drastic actions that test the limits of what consumers will accept when governments and other entities use their payment data.

The financial services affiliate of Alibaba Group Holding Ltd has agreed to buy a minority stake in Klarna, and will expand its international partnership with the Swedish payments firm.

Baidu Inc. predicted revenue may slide as much as 13% this quarter, joining its fellow technology giants in warning about the impact of the deadly coronavirus.

It’s an odd, and unwelcome, test of new retail technology that allows consumers to shop with minimal interaction with others.

Mastercard Inc. won approval to set up a bank card clearing business in China, gaining access to a $27 trillion payments market as part of the nation’s financial opening, though more regulatory steps will be required.

The timing couldn’t be worse for ag and energy lenders as well as global banks, which were all counting on the Chinese market to help bolster commercial lending and fee income.

Stock markets have endured dramatic swings since the coronavirus erupted in China and talks of pandemics surfaced. But the notoriously volatile bitcoin market has been steadily climbing as investors see value in crypto's ability to thrive as traditional financial rails are under pressure.

Competition between hundreds of national and global payment systems forces everybody to continually adapt, up their games, culling weaker and underperforming systems and inviting the search for better mouse traps, says Intrepid Ventures' Eric Grover.

Progress in the trade war is welcome news for Mastercard’s ambitions in China, though the coronavirus jeopardizes the rosy outlook.

Starbucks has invested heavily in building its business and payment technology in China, so the coronavirus weighs on an otherwise strong strong earnings performance.