Cards & Payments
Where do Malaysians spend their e-money the most?
Spending at dining outlets posts the fastest climb, gaining 15 percentage points year on year.
The Philippines and UAE move to connect instant payment systems
They also floated plans to connect card switches and messaging systems in the future.
Alipay+ teams with LankaPay to push LankaQR payments
LankaQR is Sri Lanka’s national QR payment network.
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.
Commentary
How alternative data lending is reaching Southeast Asia's unscored MSMEs
Asia is leading payments modernisation and banks can't afford to fall behind
Investing in an inefficient market
Platinum cards, paper-thin compliance?
Energy price volatility highlights structural gaps for managing FX risk in APAC