Cards & Payments

Why APAC cross-border payments lag revenue despite $400b flows

Region delivers 18% of global volume but only 14% of earnings in 2025.

Stablecoin volumes may hit $719t by 2035 on wealth transfer and POS adoption

Up to $100t will be transferred to Gen Z and Millennials over the coming decades.

Union Bank of the Philippines revises credit card rewards scheme

Select credit cards earn 1 point for every PHP150 spent, from 1 per PHP60 previously.

Buy now, worry later: The hidden cost of BNPL

BNPL providers should adopt ‘affordability-by-design’ rather than ‘affordability-after-default.’

Indonesia and South Korea link QR payments to bypass foreign exchange

Indonesia received 5.89 million inbound QR transactions in 2025.

Digital wallets capture 77% of APAC e-commerce payments

Mobile checkout tools made up 63% of in-store spending across the region.

Hong Kong digital wallets overtake cards in e-commerce payments

Digital wallets accounted for 41% of all e-commerce transactions.

Airwallex clinches e-money issuing and Class A licenses in Malaysia

The company plans to double its headcount in Malaysia.

Australia to scrap card surcharges in October

The RBA noted businesses charging the same rate on all cards.

MobiFone Digital Payments launches in Vietnam

MobiFone Digital Payments (MDP) has officially launched in Vietnam.

Hatton National Bank enables debit cards on Google Wallet

Customers can now tap-to-pay using their phone or with smart watches.

Fiuu processed $13b in total payment value in 2025

It was the first payment acquirer in Malaysia to enable Samsung Pay Online.

Ripple joins MAS BLOOM initiative to pilot tokenized trade settlements

It aims to create a model for cross-border, interoperable settlements.

SCB Wealth unveils CardX collab card with up to 40% shopping discount

It offers Dine 3, Pay 2 offers and special miles rates, subject to conditions.

Taiwan credit card spending drops $1b as holiday boom ends

January 2026 retail sales reached $13.44b, down from December’s $14.3b peak, FSC data shows.