Citizens of Macau will soon be able to verify their identity at border crossings with a digital credential by scanning a QR code stored on their smartphone rather than using their physical ID card... More
Octopus users in Hong Kong will soon be able to pay for public transport fares in more than 300 cities in mainland China with a new physical transit card to be launched “by the end of this year or early next year”, according to a South China Morning Post (SCMP) report... More
The governments of Hong Kong and Macau are to stimulate consumer spending by distributing digital payment vouchers that residents can store in their mobile wallets or on a prepaid smartcard and then use to make purchases from retailers and other local businesses... More
Customers of the National Bank of Pakistan (NBP) with a compatible smartphone can now add their UnionPay International (UPI) virtual card to a Huawei Pay digital wallet and use it to make NFC or QR code-enabled mobile payments... More
Consumers in the city of Shenzhen are being offered the opportunity to win one of 50,000 ‘red envelopes’ containing 200 digital yuan (US$29.65) that they can spend at any of more than 3,000 retail outlets in the city that now accept China’s central bank digital currency (CBDC)... More
China’s Ministry of Commerce has announced that pilot testing of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) developed by the People’s Bank of China (PBoC) is to be expanded to cover the country’s major commercial regions and cities including Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong and Macau... More
The government of Macau is stimulating the local economy by distributing contactless smartcards to residents that come pre-loaded with a credit of 3,000 patacas (US$377.43) that must be spent in local stores by the end of July... More
UnionPay International launches the UnionPay app in Hong Kong and Macau to enhance the local customers’ mobile payment experience — UnionPay International — “From today, consumers in Hong Kong and Macau can bind their locally issued UnionPay cards to the UnionPay app and enjoy mobile payment service both in and outside Hong Kong and Macau… So far, UnionPay is accepted at almost all ATMs and POS terminals in Hong Kong and Macau, and a total of about 19m UnionPay cards are issued in Hong Kong and Macau.”
UnionPay International launches its biggest-scale summer marketing campaign — UnionPay — “Merchants in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Russia, Australia and other countries and regions are providing discounts for UnionPay mobile QuickPass. For instance, customers can purchase Aeroexpress ticket in Moscow for only one ruble. Secondly, customers can download u-plan e-coupons that can be used at about 6,000 merchant locations in 17 countries and regions via the app to enjoy the best discount in-store. Thirdly, the app users can check about merchant offers, card-using tips, tax refund guides and other practical information.”
WeChat Pay now allows users to bind overseas credit cards — Technode — “Expats living in China and residents of Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan — places where WeChat is ambitiously expanding its user base — can now bind and activate WeChat Pay accounts with credit card services provided by MasterCard, Visa, and JCB… This is the first time users are able to use WeChat Pay without having a Chinese bank account or credit card.”
UnionPay reports growth in QR code mobile payment volumes — UnionPay International — “The cross-border transaction volume of mobile QuickPass, the UnionPay mobile payment product, doubled in the first half of this year. More notably, more overseas customers are using mobile QuickPass. The transaction volume of mobile QuickPass used locally in Hong Kong and Macau more than tripled and the transaction of mobile QuickPass by Hong Kong and Macau cardholders in mainland China grew by over seven times year-on-year.”
Some Macau cash points deserted as face recognition technology kicks in at ATMs — South China Morning Post — “One casino employee, who works near an ATM which previously had long queues, said: “I used to see lots of people lining up at the ATMs before but they have vanished since the new machines were installed. Everyone must have gone looking for those without the cameras.”
Macau’s ATMs are using facial recognition to help follow the money — Bloomberg — “Chinese bettors withdrawing money from some ATMs in Macau need to do more than punch in their PIN code. They also have to stare into a camera for six seconds so facial-recognition software can verify their identity and help monitor transactions… China UnionPay Co’s network is the first to use the software, which will be installed in all the city’s 1,200 cash dispensers.”
Samsung Pay has gone live in Hong Kong with support from Mastercard, Visa and American Express and banks including Bank of China (Hong Kong), Citibank, DahSing Bank, DBS and Standard Chartered. The launch takes the mobile payment service to a total of 17 markets globally and follows its debut in Taiwan earlier this month. More
Hong Kong ATM network Jetco has partnered with seven banks in Macau to offer Jetco Pay P2P, the mobile phone number-based transfer service that launched with 12 banks in January 2016... More
Bankcard association UnionPay International has launched QuickPass, its host card emulation (HCE) and tokenization based mobile payment service, for customers of ICBC (Macau)... More
Bankcard association UnionPay International has launched its host card emulation (HCE) and tokenization based mobile payment service in South Korea, enabling its cardholders to pay by tapping their mobile phones. The launch of UnionPay HCE mobile QuickPass is supported by mobile network operator KT and its subsidiary BCcard. More
Visa will support the launch of Apple Pay in Hong Kong, the payment network has confirmed, after announcing its support for the expansion of the mobile payment service to Switzerland and France... More
China’s Baidu has launched its Baidu Wallet mobile payment service in Thailand, enabling Chinese tourists to pay for goods and services there with their mobile phone... More
Shops and restaurants in Macau which accept the Macau Pass contactless card can now apply to upgrade their terminals to enable support for Alipay mobile payments and China UnionPay Quick Pass cards... More