2018 has been a rough year for China’s bike-sharing giants. Alibaba-backed Ofo pulled out of dozens of international cities as it fought with a severe cash crunch. Tencent-backed Mobike puts a brake on expansion after it was sold to neighborhood services provider Meituan Dianping. But one newcomer is pedaling against the wind. Hellobike, currently the country’s […]
View More Alibaba-backed Hellobike bags new funds as it marches into ride-hailingCategory: alipay
WeChat e-wallet teams up with Line to target Japan’s 7M Chinese tourists
China’s biggest chat app WeChat is set to make its payments service more ubiquitous in Japan, a popular outbound desitnation for Chinese tourists. On Tuesday, the Tencent-run messenger unveils a partnership with Japan’s Line chat app on mobile payments. The tie-up allows Japanese brick-and-mortar merchants with a Line Pay terminal to process WeChat Pay transactions […]
View More WeChat e-wallet teams up with Line to target Japan’s 7M Chinese touristsTencent e-wallet is following Alibaba to Hong Kong subways
China’s payments giants have taken their battle to Hong Kong. Less than a week after Ant Financial announced adding QR codes to the city’s MTR public transport network of rail, Tencent’s WeChat Pay unveiled a similar scheme on Wednesday. Starting mid-2021, commuters in Hong Kong can scan a barcode to enter the subway turnstile through […]
View More Tencent e-wallet is following Alibaba to Hong Kong subwaysHong Kong is adding QR code payments to its subway stations
A new dispatch from our ‘QR Codes Are Very Much Alive In Asia’ reporting program: Hong Kong’s subway system will soon allow its commuters to pay by scanning QR codes thanks to a deal with Alibaba that was announced this week. The partnership — which is with Alibaba’s Ant Financial affiliate — will see scan-to-pay […]
View More Hong Kong is adding QR code payments to its subway stations11/11 shows biometrics are the norm for payments in China
Chinese consumers were quick to adopt digital payments, and a recent shopping binge showed they are ready for another leap: biometric payments. On November 11, Alibaba wrapped up Singles’ Day – the world’s largest shopping event – and hauled in $30.8 billion in total transactions, a staggering amount bigger than Cyber Monday and Black Friday combined. […]
View More 11/11 shows biometrics are the norm for payments in ChinaAlibaba made a smart screen to help blind people shop and it costs next to nothing
Just a few years ago, Li Mengqi could not have imagined shopping on her own. Someone needed to always keep her company to say aloud what was in front of her, who’s been blind since birth. When smartphones with text-to-speech machines for the visually impaired arrived, she immediately bought an iPhone. “Though it was expensive,” […]
View More Alibaba made a smart screen to help blind people shop and it costs next to nothingChina’s Youon expands into Europe as other bike startups backpedal worldwide
A little known Chinese bike company is riding into Europe as its peer Ofo has applied the brakes to its global expansion strategy in recent months. Youon, which gets by manufacturing public bikes for city governments across China, has formed a joint venture with UK-based bike-sharing startup Cycle.land, it says in a statement. The deal […]
View More China’s Youon expands into Europe as other bike startups backpedal worldwideAfrica Roundup: Paga goes global and 4 startups raise $99M in VC
Jake Bright Contributor Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa. More posts by this contributor Polestar unveils first production EV with aim to overtake Tesla Liquid Telecom goes long on Africa’s startups as future clients Nigerian digital payments startup Paga is gearing up for international expansion […]
View More Africa Roundup: Paga goes global and 4 startups raise $99M in VCThe 21-day bitcoin challenge
There is a documentary series currently airing on iQiyi, China’s Netflix equivalent, about a Chinese bitcoin enthusiast who attempts to survive 21 days by merely living on 0.21 bitcoin, or $1,300, without any help or donations. He You Bing is traveling and carrying nothing with her, and she has to retrieve food, housing, and basic […]
View More The 21-day bitcoin challengeAlibaba goes big on Russia with joint venture focused on gaming, shopping and more
Alibaba is doubling down on Russia after the Chinese e-commerce giant launched a joint venture with one of the country’s leading internet companies. Russia is said to have over 70 million internet users, around half of its population, with countless more attracted from Russian-speaking neighboring countries. The numbers are projected to rise as, like in […]
View More Alibaba goes big on Russia with joint venture focused on gaming, shopping and moreWith a $10 million round, Nigeria’s Paga plans global expansion
Jake Bright Contributor Jake Bright is a writer and author in New York City. He is co-author of The Next Africa. More posts by this contributor African tech leaders Fope Adelowo, Ken Njoroge, Tayo Oviosu to speak at Disrupt SF Offering a white-labeled lending service in emerging markets, Mines raises $13 million Nigerian digital payments […]
View More With a $10 million round, Nigeria’s Paga plans global expansionTerra is an ambitious crypto project to build a stable coin through e-commerce
Four of the world’s largest crypto exchanges are leading a $32 million investment in an ambitious venture out of Korea that’s aiming to develop a new stable coin using e-commerce as the lynchpin. Global exchanges Binance Labs, OKEx, Huobi Capital, and Dunamu — the firm behind Korea’s Upbit — have all poured capital into Terra, a crypto […]
View More Terra is an ambitious crypto project to build a stable coin through e-commerce