In today’s top payments news around the world, Afterpay has introduced a virtual card offering, while the pandemic has dramatically heightened dependence on real-time and digital payments. Plus, citizens of Shanghai and Beijing can now apply to one of six Chinese banks for a digital yuan wallet.
Afterpay Rolls Out In-Store Digital Card For BNPL
Afterpay, the Australian buy now, pay later (BNPL) company, has debuted a virtual card offering for in-store payments. Its virtual card lets individuals divide payments into four equal installments, whether users are shopping at brick-and-mortar stores or through the web. “The new Afterpay virtual card, which will sit in a customer’s digital wallet, is an evolution of our offering, making it even easier for millions of our Australian customers to split their in-store payments in four installments without incurring interest — ever,” Afterpay CEO and Co-Founder Nick Molnar said in an announcement.
COVID-19 Fuels 41 Pct Spike In Global Real-Time Payments
The pandemic has dramatically increased dependence on real-time and digital payments, bringing about a 41 percent jump in real-time payment transactions between 2019 and 2020. That’s according to a new report from ACI Worldwide and GlobalData, which determined that over 70.3 billion real-time payments were processed in 2020. The report is the second installment of the “Prime-Time for Real-Time” study. According to a press release, “Countries like Brazil, Mexico and Malaysia where many people historically relied on cash are now some of the fastest adopters of mobile wallets.”
Chinese Banks Open The Doors To Digital Wallets
Beijing and Shanghai citizens can now apply to one of six Chinese banks for a digital yuan wallet. The six banks include Agricultural Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, Postal Savings Bank of China, Bank of Communications and Bank of China. As of November, over 2 billion digital yuan had been spent, which was the equivalent of about $300 million at the time.
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