This week's global news roundup includes Apple Pay securing a lingering holdout; a CBDC project that targets FX rates, and more.
Here's what's happening around the world.
Latest global payments news
March 8, 2023 1:35 PM
SeongJoon Cho/Bloomberg
Apple Pay set for South Korea launch
South Korea is one of the last major international holdouts for Apple Pay, though that's set to change as the payment app is scheduled to debut in the near future. Apple said it will support in-store, in-app and online payments in South Korea, nine years after Apple Pay's initial launch and a delay of about a year from the expected Korean launch in, according to 9to5mac , which attributed the lag to regulatory delays. South Korea is among the countries where Apple has faced pressure from regulators, mostly over app store fees and payment policies. Apple Pay is currently available in more than 70 countries. —John Adams
Gabby Jones/Bloomberg
Affirm to exit Australia
Affirm is "winding down " its operations in Australia, though it will continue to service active loans. The payments company, which offers buy now/pay later lending, is sending emails to Australian consumers notifying them of its plans. Like many digital payment companies that offer installment lending, Affirm has struggled over the past year as interest rates increased and consumers pulled back on spending due to concerns over a slowing economy. Affirm recently laid off about 20% of its staff, or about 500 people, saying it had hired more people than it could sustainably support. —John Adams
Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
Payments vet David Marcus joins Brazilian fintech Nubank's board
Brazil-based digital bank Nubank has added former Meta and PayPal executive David Marcus to its board of directors, where he will contribute to Nubank's international expansion. Nubank , which recently launched its own cryptocurrency as part of an incentive marketing program, has more than 70 million customers in Mexico, Brazil and other countries and is also developing a Web3 strategy. Marcus, who is now CEO of cryptocurrency startup Lightspark, was head of blockchain initiatives at Meta, including a leadership role in the Diem stablecoin project. Diem was hit by nearly constant regulatory and political pressure, and Meta eventually sold Diem's assets to Silvergate Bank , which recently suspended the stablecoin project. Marcus was also president of PayPal until joining Meta in 2014.-
—John Adams
—John Adams
CHRISTOPHE BOSSET/BLOOMBERG NEWS
CBDC project pushes competition for exchange rates
The Bank for International Settlements and central banks from Israel, Norway and Sweden have launched Project Icebreaker to be used for central bank digital currencies for cross-border payments. A key part of the project is the use of a "hub and spoke" for foreign exchange providers to submit quotes for exchange rates. The hub automatically selects the cheapest rate. This would promote competition since most cross-border payment systems do not provide end users with total control over the foreign exchange provider, BIS contends. The project additionally settles cross-border transactions "within seconds," and focuses on retail CBDCs, which are focused on consumer use, making Icebreaker a potential model for small business sales and cross-border P2P payments. The project includes a model for other countries developing a CBDC to fit within its cross-border ecosystem.
—John Adams
—John Adams
Bloomberg Creative Photos/Bloomberg
WhatsApp gets permission to expand payments in Brazil
Brazil's central bank has approved Meta's request to allow transactions involving businesses via the company's WhatsApp instant messaging service. Meta plans to support e-commerce activities such as shopping online, adding items to a cart and making card payments from the WhatsApp chat function. Consumers in Brazil were previously able to make P2P payments via WhatsApp but regulators had not approved point-of-sale payments at merchants. WhatsApp has been controversial at banks , with some banning internal use of WhatsApp out of concern that it's an unregulated forum that does not archive communications in line with regulations.
—John Adams
—John Adams
Adobe Stock
Visa partners with fintech to expand buy now/pay later in Asia
Digital payment firm AsiaPay is offering Visa Installments in Hong Kong. It's the first of several rollouts of BNPL in the region for AsiaPay, which will offer the product through its PayDollar platform. Borrowers will be able to finance purchases for between three and 24 months. The product will initially be available in Hong Kong, followed by Singapore, Malaysia and other markets in the region in the coming weeks. While BNPL is typically marketed as an alternative to credit card debt, both major U.S. card brands have invested in BNPL. Visa debuted its BNPL product in 2020, and has also served as a connection for merchants and banks to installment lending. Visa links to banks and merchants through an application programming interface, enabling the card brand's partners to offer installment lending through their mobile app or website. Mastercard launched its Installments feature in 2021.
—John Adams
—John Adams
Simon Dawson/Bloomberg
Lloyds bets on artificial intelligence firm
Lloyds Banking Group has made an investment in Ocula Technologies, a two-year old Belfast, Ireland-based artificial intelligence firm. Ocula specializes in retail, e-commerce and sports teams, which use the technology to inform marketing, sales and customer experience strategies. Its clients include U.K. retailers such as Hornby Hobbies and AO World, which used Ocula to support their digital sales and payment strategies. In the U.S., Ocula's clients include the Kansas City Chiefs, which uses Ocula to help determine price strategies for tickets and other products. The size of Lloyds' investment was not disclosed.
—John Adams
—John Adams
Yan Cong/Bloomberg
Australia’s Airwallex enters Chinese online payments market
Melbourne, Australia-based digital payments provider Airwallex, which is backed by China's Tencent Holdings, has obtained a license to offer online payment services in mainland China, the South China Morning Post reports. The move comes after Airwallex received approval from Chinese regulators to acquire the online payment startup Guangzhou Shang Wu Tong Network Technology. Airwallex, founded in 2015, already has licenses to support online payments acceptance, cross-border funds transfers and virtual cards in many global regions including its home market plus the U.S., Europe, Hong Kong and Singapore.
–Kate Fitzgerald
–Kate Fitzgerald
Daniel Acker/Bloomberg
Card spending bounces back in Asia-Pacific: Visa
China is on track for a full recovery in card spending this year for tourism, restaurants and retail following the country's recent reopening, Visa said in the March issue of its Global Travel Insight report. Based on current trends, outbound travel from the Asia-Pacific region will match 2019 levels as early as July of this year, and international travel arrivals in Asia-Pacific will likely surpass 1 billion in 2023, up from about 890 million last year. Restaurant spending by Visa card customers so far this year has reached 82% of 2019 levels in major markets outside the U.S. including Asia Pacific, Europe and Middle East, the report said.
–Kate Fitzgerald
–Kate Fitzgerald
Scott McIntyre/Bloomberg
Argentinian travel agency accepts crypto payments via Binance
Despegar, a travel agency based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, has partnered with Binance Pay to accept cryptocurrency payments, Coindesk reported. The booking firm reportedly is the first online travel booking agency in Latin America to accept crypto as a form of payment, and is using Binance's Inswitch platform to convert crypto to fiat currency. Despegar, which serves 19 markets outside of Argentina, plans to roll out the service to other countries in the future, according to the report.
–Kate Fitzgerald
–Kate Fitzgerald
