LemonBox, a Chinese e-commerce startup that imports vitamins and health products from the US, has raised $2 million to develop its business. The company graduated from Y Combinator’s most recent program in the U.S. and, fuelled by the demo day, it has pulled in the new capital from 10 investors which include Partech, Tekton Ventures, […]
View More LemonBox, which brings US vitamins to Chinese consumers, raises $2MCategory: mobile payments
Apple Pay finally launches in Germany
Apple’s mobile payment technology has finally launched in Germany, some four years after it debuted in the U.S. On its newly launched Apple Pay website for Germany, Apple lists partner banks and credit card companies at launch, with customers from the likes of Deutsche Bank, O2 Banking, N26, Comdirect, HypoVerensbank, Bunq and Boon able to tap […]
View More Apple Pay finally launches in GermanyPayment service Toss becomes Korea’s newest unicorn after raising $80M
South Korea has got its third unicorn startup after Viva Republica, the company beyond popular payment app Toss, announced it has raised an $80 million round at a valuation of $1.2 billion. This new round is led by U.S. firms Kleiner Perkins and Ribbit Capital, both of which cut their first checks for Korea with this […]
View More Payment service Toss becomes Korea’s newest unicorn after raising $80MPayPal: Black Friday & Cyber Monday broke records with $1B+ in mobile payment volume
Black Friday broke records in terms of sales made from mobile devices, according to reports last week from Adobe. This week, PayPal said it saw a similar trend during the Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday shopping event. PayPal saw a record-breaking $1 billion+ in mobile payment volume for the first time ever on Black Friday – a […]
View More PayPal: Black Friday & Cyber Monday broke records with $1B+ in mobile payment volumeSimbaPay launches Kenya to China payment service via WeChat
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 Africa’s agtech wave gets $10 million richer as Twiga Foods raises more capital Nigerian data analytics company Terragon acquires Asian mobile ad firm Bizense Forging another link between Africa […]
View More SimbaPay launches Kenya to China payment service via WeChatWeChat 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 China7-Eleven is bringing cashier-less payments to its stores
7-Eleven is piloting a new mobile check-out process called Scan & Pay.
View More 7-Eleven is bringing cashier-less payments to its storesChat app Line to raise $1.33BN via convertible bonds to double down on financial services
Move over stickers and games: Japanese messaging app firm Line has announced it’s raising around 148.1 billion yen ($1.33BN) through convertible bonds to fund aggressive expansion into the financial services business, Reuters reports. Line said it plans to spend most of the money on promoting its Line Pay service and for other new financial services by the […]
View More Chat app Line to raise $1.33BN via convertible bonds to double down on financial servicesGoogle is supercharging its Tez payment service in India ahead of global expansion
Google launched its Tez paymen app in India a year ago, and now the company is giving the service major push into retail as it prepares to expand it to other parts of Asia and beyond. The app itself is being rebranded to Google Pay — bringing it in line with Google’s global payment service, […]
View More Google is supercharging its Tez payment service in India ahead of global expansion