Ant Group

Stripe will collaborate with WeChat and Alipay to make it easier for merchants around the world to accept payments from Chinese consumers.

Consumers using the Alipay app will be able to find nearby merchants that accept the popular Chinese mobile wallet, and receive coupons for local deals.

Chinese tourists visiting Spain will be able to shop at Spanish stores using their Alipay mobile wallets through an agreement between BBVA Group and Ant Financial Services, the Alibaba affiliate that operates Alipay.

Ant Financial's Alipay, the payments affiliate of Alibaba, broke into the U.S. last year through a deal with First Data, and now it's expanding in Canada—alongside Tencent's WeChat—through partnerships orchestrated by Canadian tourism authorities.

Pizza Hut has played a large role in building China's middle class. It's also a major cog in Ant's investment in Yum China.

The Trump administration must weigh risks to national security in its review of the $1.2 billion deal. Its decision will shed light on whether — given the president’s “America First” rhetoric — Chinese investment is still welcome in the U.S. financial services sector.

Collaboration has now become a constant theme in the payments industry, where longtime enemies are putting aside their differences to survive in the fast-paced digital world.

Ant Financial, China’s largest provider of internet financial services, will continue investing in mobile-payment providers around the world to boost offshore revenue and buttress itself from rising competition and tighter regulation at home.

MoneyGram’s stockholders have voted to approve a deal to be purchased by China’s Ant Financial for $1.2 billion.

Alipay's big partnership with First Data will extend its merchant base, but travelers from China will benefit before U.S. consumers.