Our roundup of global payments news includes an interesting partnership between Amazon Cash and 7-Eleven, Facebook Messenger payments expansion into UK and France, Alipay growth in Europe, Asia payments markets and much more.
As new PSD2 EU mobile payments standards approach, there will be faster growth in mobile payments and innovations ahead according to Lu Zurawski, practice lead for retail banking and consumer payments at ACI Worldwide. Facebook launched its P2P payments service in the UK and France. Germany’s AliPay partner Concardis just expanded to Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Apple Pay continued expanded its services to Sweden, Finland, Denmark and United Arab Emirates. PayPal impress the markets with net revenue of $3.24 billion, a 21% increase built in part on strong mobile results. Amazon Cash will now be available at more than 8,000 7-Eleven 
stores in the US. Nanopay CEO Laurence Cooke hopes his Canadian-based service can make cross-border payments simpler, less fragmented and smoother for business.
WorldPay’s Global Payments Report says the Asia Pacific e-commerce market will grow by 12% annually, and reach $2.1 trillion by 2021. The Economic Times of India has a feature on Paytm, highlighting the company’s success in India’s competitive payments market. Paytm launched a new Inbox messenger platform that lets users send and receive money as well as messages in India.
TMS Guide 2017: The future is mobile, regardless of regulations
PSD2 heralds a new dawn for mobile payments, as the regulatory technical standards around the upcoming European open banking regulations are expected to put mobile devices at the heart of new payment techniques. Strong customer authentication required by PSD2 is key as well as initiating, and authenticating, transfers directly from bank accounts to payees. However, PSD2 will restrict some mobile payment methods at the same time as serving up innovation across the industry. Via bobsguide.com
German Alipay Partner Expands to Four More Countries
One year after launching the Alipay service in Germany and Austria, Concardis has expanded its partnership with China’s largest mobile payment network into Switzerland, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. Alipay has become an important option at retail locations frequented by Chinese tourists. They do not have to convert their Chinese currency to make purchases outside China, and they pay lower exchange rates than they would with traditional credit cards. In Germany alone, Alipay is now available at 1,000 points of sale with more than 250 merchants. Via retailtouchpoints.com
Facebook launches person-to-person payments in the UK
Facebook has launched a person-to-person payments service in the UK, extending the social network’s reach into financial services and stealing a march on Apple. The US tech giant’s Messenger app will allow users to instantly send funds back and forth on their mobile phones or computers with no fees after linking their accounts to their debit cards. Facebook, which launched a similar feature in the US in 2015, said users would receive the update in the coming weeks. Via telegraph.co.uk
Apple Pay now available in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and UAE
Apple is continuing the expansion of Apple Pay today with the addition of four new countries; Sweden, Finland, Denmark and the United Arab Emirates – the Scandinavian countries first reported last week. Apple Pay enables users to pay with their iPhone or Apple Watch at retailers with contactless terminals. Users can also Apple Pay on supported websites with iOS devices or the MacBook Pro with Touch Bar. Via 9to5mac.com
PayPal Is the Obvious Winner of the Mobile Commerce Revolution
PayPal’s net revenue came in at $3.24 billion, a 21% increase year over year, and its non-GAAP earnings per share rose to $0.46, good for a 31% annual increase. This quarter was better than just consistently good revenue and earnings growth. The company’s metrics on customer growth and engagement levels also showed accelerating growth. Via fool.com
Amazon Cash, the service that lets you use cash to shop Amazon online, arrives at 7-Eleven
Amazon Cash, the service that lets consumers add cash to their Amazon.com balance at brick-and-mortar retailers, is now available at nearly 8,000 7-Eleven convenience stores, the companies announced today. The service is still relatively new to Amazon, having first launched this April as a way to better serve the under-banked and un-banked US customer base. Amazon is not alone in trying to reach this demographic. Via techcrunch.com
nanopay Makes Cross-Border Payments Simple
Kintsugi: the art of repairing broken pottery with lacquer containing gold, silver or platinum dust, taking something fragmented and making it whole, smooth and beautiful. That’s what Toronto startup nanopay wants to do with instant payments, particularly cross-border transactions. There are many different platforms for sending payments, and not all of them play nicely together. Even within the US, noted nanopay Founder and CEO Laurence Cooke, banks have a choice between Zelle and the Clearinghouse, and the fragmentation is more severe in less developed economies. Via pymnts.com
APAC leading global online payments boom
Asia Pacific is at the forefront of a global trend toward increasing complexity in the online payments market, according to research from payments company Worldpay. The research found that consumers across APAC increasingly prefer to pay online via alternative payment methods such as e-wallets, bank transfers and cash on delivery. The annual Global Payments Report states that the Asia Pacific e-commerce market will grow by an average of 12% annually, and is set to be worth $2.1 trillion by 2021. Via telecomasia.net
Demonetization: After note ban boost, it’s time for the next growth trigger for Paytm
It didn’t take long for founder Vijay Shekhar Sharma to realise that if anybody had a solution to the problem called demonetization, it was Paytm with its mobile wallet that enabled cashless transactions. Sure enough, the aftermath boosted Paytm’s valuation by a few billions of dollars. Post demonetization, Paytm wallet grew at a fast pace and today has around 280 million users from 110-120 million a year ago. Via economictimes.indiatimes.com
Paytm launches ‘Inbox’ messaging platform to send or request money and share multimedia messages
Indian e-commerce and electronic payments company Paytm has announced the roll-out of a new feature called ‘Inbox’. The company detailed that this is a new ‘messaging platform’ that will allow Paytm users to interact with family and friends. The introduction of this new feature is a ‘strategic move’ aiming at improving Paytm’s position in the market. Via firstpost.com
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