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The Star
4 days ago
- Automotive
- The Star
Taxi drivers, passengers welcome new mandatory e-payment rules in Hong Kong
HONG KONG: Taxi drivers and passengers on Friday (July 18) welcomed Hong Kong's new mandatory electronic payment and in-car surveillance measures, saying the measures will help combat malpractice and restore public trust in the taxi trade. However, they urged the authorities to minimise disruptions to drivers' livelihoods, noting that many elderly, tech-illiterate drivers may struggle to adapt due to the limited time and resources available for training. From April 1 next year, all taxi drivers in Hong Kong — who have traditionally relied on cash payments, partly so they can retain small change and (in some cases) evade taxes — will be required to accept at least two e-payment options, according to the amendments to the city's road traffic regulations, gazetted on Friday. One of the options must be QR-code based, such as Alipay or WeChat Pay, popular among Chinese mainland tourists, and the other must be a form of contactless payment, including Octopus or credit cards, according to the amendments. In addition, in-car cameras, dashcams, and vehicle positioning systems — collectively termed Journey Recording Systems — will become mandatory by 2027 to enhance service quality. Once the installation is completed, taxis must connect to the Transport Department's central system to share surveillance data. The authorities have assured the public that access to the system will be strictly limited — in accordance with privacy guidelines — and used only for investigating traffic offenses. The government said it will start authorising equipment suppliers in October. The Transport and Logistics Bureau said the reforms are aimed at improving the experience of taxi passengers, especially tourists, who have often expressed frustration over the cash-only policies of many taxis. The amendment bill will be tabled at the Legislative Council (LegCo) on July 23 for negative vetting. 'I think the authorities are heading in the right direction,' said part-time taxi driver Chan, who declined to give his full name. The driver, who began working in the industry in 2023, said that in-car surveillance aligns with the wishes of many drivers seeking to improve the sector's reputation, and will help the sector gain the public's trust, respect, and ultimately more business. 'The recordings also protect us drivers,' he added, explaining how video evidence can prevent false accusations, such as of fare overcharging. Chan described himself as an e-payments supporter, citing their convenience and hygiene advantages. His preferred methods include Octopus, the Faster Payment System (FPS) for instant bank transfers, and QR code scanning. Payment preferences vary significantly across passenger groups, he said. While about half of local riders still favor cash, mainland tourists typically request WeChat Pay or Alipay. International visitors, meanwhile, often opt to pay on ride-hailing apps like Uber to bypass language barriers. However, the 39-year-old explained that many older drivers still cling to cash payments because they lack digital skills, or may need immediate access to income or have tax concerns. According to Transport Department data from 2022, about 60 percent of the city's taxi drivers were aged 60 or older. To help drivers adapt, the authorities have pledged to work with e-payment providers to organise training workshops. Chan said that such training must be practical, and proposed giving digital payment instructions at gas stations while drivers queue to refuel, as well as at locations where drivers hand over their shifts. 'The training needs to fit around drivers' schedules,' he said. Wang Lin, who relocated to Hong Kong for work in 2022, welcomes the new e-payment mandate but questions whether surveillance cameras alone can significantly improve the quality of service. After years in the mainland's cashless economy, Wang was shocked to find Hong Kong taxis routinely reject digital payments. She recalls one time when she had to borrow cash from the concierge of the building she lives in after her taxi driver refused e-payment. 'Now I never leave home without cash,' she said. The commuter, who daily takes a taxi from Wan Chai to Kwun Tong to save time, explained that after years of making small talk with drivers, she believes there is a deeper issue: Many older drivers are under severe financial pressure, which she believes fuels their impatience with passengers. 'These are systemic problems that cameras can't fix overnight,' Wang said, adding that the small change they retain from cash payments often constitutes a critical part of struggling drivers' income. She said that e-payment solutions should not burden drivers with additional costs, such as excessive transaction fees charged by digital platforms, or with operating difficulties. - China Daily/ANN
Finextra
5 days ago
- Business
- Finextra
Ant International expands merchant payment AI functions
Antom, Ant International's merchant payment and digitisation services provider, today announced a major upgrade to its flagship AI agent, Antom Copilot, with expanded capabilities across payment integration, onboarding, risk configuration, and chargeback solution. 0 This content is provided by an external author without editing by Finextra. It expresses the views and opinions of the author. Antom Copilot is the world's first merchant payment service AI agent, launched in June 2024. It's built on Ant International's Alipay+ GenAI Cockpit, an AI-as-a-Service (AIaaS) platform that enables fintech companies and super apps to build AI-agentic and ultimately AI-native financial services. Nearly 50% of SME clients of Antom do not actively respond to chargebacks. An industry first, the Chargeback AI Assistant offers a faster and more effective solution to the increasingly complex dispute settlement and revenue loss recovery issues for SMEs and e-commerce platforms. The Chargeback AI Assistant builds a tailored response strategy based on automated case-by-case analysis to help merchants improve revenue control and customer service. It offers documentation support, success rate analysis, defence building, as well as post-case analysis. Pilot testing showed a 3 percentage point increase in win rates, while time spent on dispute resolution was reduced by 46%. To ensure accuracy and reliability, the process includes merchant review and manual verification by Antom. Full automation is planned in future iterations. Other updates include the ability to automatically recommend suitable payment methods, acquiring services and integration solutions based on merchant needs and Antom Copilot's analysis of industry trends and market conditions. It enables merchants to deploy localized payment methods more quickly and with less technical resources. Antom Copilot 2.0 also offers AI-assisted onboarding that leverages multimodal LLM capabilities to extract merchant registration documents. In addition, merchants can now configure risk management settings using natural language prompts, making AI-powered anti-fraud tools more available and easier to manage. Antom Copilot accelerates integration by over 90%, leveraging chain of thought (CoT) reasoning, standard operating procedure (SOP) automation, language (LUI) and graphical (GUI) user interfaces, and AI-driven code generation. It also achieves an average satisfaction rate of 90% in end-to-end issue resolution. 56% of the merchants using Antom's dashboard engaged with the embedded Antom Copilot during the first half of 2025. The most common questions they asked were about payment method coverage and supported currencies, industry-specific payment solutions, and recommended integration technologies. 'We're building AI tools that go beyond payment acquiring to address real operational needs for merchants,' said Gary Liu, General Manager of Antom, Ant International. 'With this latest upgrade, Antom Copilot continues to evolve into a payment partner to provide merchants with tailored solutions. This reflects Ant International's AI strategy to deliver trusted, industry-specific solutions that help businesses, especially SMEs, fully harness the benefits of technology to thrive.'
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Yeahka to support HSBC Digital Merchant Services in Hong Kong
Payments company Yeahka has expanded its payment network to include support for HSBC Digital Merchant Services in Hong Kong. The move introduces additional payment methods for merchants, incorporating services such as Alipay, AlipayHK, and WeChat Pay. The company, which operates a payment-based technology platform, has partnerships with over 6,000 SaaS providers, nearly 160 banks and around 17,000 independent sales organisations. Yeahka founder and CEO Luke Liu said: 'Yeahka is fully committed to this partnership and looking forward to jointly explore more collaborative possibilities in the future." Additionally, Yeahka has joined global payment networks as an institutional member, including Visa, MasterCard, and UnionPay International, facilitating cross-border card transactions. HSBC Digital Merchant Services offers a digital payment management solution that consolidates various payment options into a single platform. The solution is designed to streamline the process for eCommerce merchants to receive digital payments and handle the associated administrative tasks through a unified contract. With the integration of Yeahka's payment network, merchants utilising HSBC Digital Merchant Services now have access to a broader range of payment channels, which could potentially unlock new opportunities in the consumer market of mainland China. HSBC Global Payments Solutions global head of domestic and emerging payments Lewis Sun stated: "HSBC remains committed to collaborating with Fintech innovators like Yeahka to deliver tangible value for our clients." Earlier this year, HSBC decided to shut down its international payments app, Zing, a year after its 2024 launch. According to a report by Reuters, the closure resulted in approximately 400 job losses as CEO Georges Elhedery intensified cost-cutting efforts in Europe. "Yeahka to support HSBC Digital Merchant Services in Hong Kong " was originally created and published by Electronic Payments International, a GlobalData owned brand. The information on this site has been included in good faith for general informational purposes only. It is not intended to amount to advice on which you should rely, and we give no representation, warranty or guarantee, whether express or implied as to its accuracy or completeness. You must obtain professional or specialist advice before taking, or refraining from, any action on the basis of the content on our site. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Yeahka expands payment options for HSBC Digital Merchant Services
HONG KONG, July 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Yeahka ( is leveraging its extensive payment network to support HSBC in enhancing HSBC Digital Merchant Services by expanding the payment options available to its merchants in Hong Kong. The newly-added payment methods include Alipay, AlipayHK and WeChat Pay. Yeahka as a leading payment-based technology platform, has built an extensive payment network through years of industry expertise. According to Yeahka's 2024 financial report, the peak daily transaction counts for its app-based payments has reached nearly 60.0 million. To further strengthen its diversified channel expansion, Yeahka has connected with over 6,000 SaaS partners and established group-level strategic partnerships with nearly 160 banks for joint merchant acquiring, while further scaling market coverage through approximately 17,000 independent sales organizations. Apart from domestic markets, Yeahka has joined global leading payment networks such as Visa, MasterCard, and UnionPay International as an institutional member, enabling cross-border acceptance of all card types, to further enhance its global payment network coverage and service quality. HSBC Digital Merchant Services is a comprehensive digital payment management solution that seamlessly integrates a wide range of payment options. The solution aims to enhance efficiency for eCommerce merchants to receive digital payments and manage related administration through a single contract. Merchants using HSBC Digital Merchant Services can now accept a wider range of payment channels, unlocking untapped opportunities in mainland China's vast consumer market. For consumers, this upgrade will facilitate a more seamless payment experience. According to Payments & Commerce Market Intelligence (PCMI), Hong Kong's e-commerce transaction volume is projected to reach HKD 240 billion by 2027, with e-wallets accounting for over 60% of e-commerce payments, presenting significant business opportunities. Lewis Sun, Global Head of Domestic and Emerging Payments, Global Payments Solutions, HSBC, stated: "Our enhanced Digital Merchant Services enables merchants to reach a more diverse customer base by offering a seamless checkout experience that accommodates different payment preferences and habits. HSBC remains committed to collaborating with Fintech innovators like Yeahka to deliver tangible value for our clients." Luke Liu, Founder and CEO of Yeahka, mentioned, "Yeahka has experienced rapid growth in the payment industry, evolving from card-based payments to e-wallets products, and now enriching its offerings with AI-powered applications. Throughout this development, two essentials remain: smooth user experience and reliable technology system. Yeahka is fully committed to this partnership and looking forward to jointly explore more collaborative possibilities in the future." About YEAHKA (Stock Code: Yeahka is a leading commerce enablement technology platform dedicated to creating value for merchants and consumers. We strive to expand an independent commercial digitalized ecosystem to (i) provide seamless, convenient and reliable payment services to both merchants and consumers through our one-stop payment services; (ii) enable merchants to better manage and drive business growth through our merchant solutions; and (iii) provide consumers with local lifestyle services of great value through our in-store e-commerce services. View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Yeahka Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Finextra
11-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Rethinking Mobile Money: From App Integration to Embedded Financial Platforms: By Galong Yao
In recent discussions around mobile financial services, a recurring question has surfaced: Should telecom operators merge their Mobile Money apps into their main self-service platforms? On the surface, integration seems to promise streamlined development, focused user traffic, and lower promotional costs—particularly in markets across Africa and other emerging regions. However, I believe this line of thinking may be too narrow. Instead of merely considering whether to combine apps, we should ask: How can Mobile Money evolve into a foundational financial capability—one that is accessible everywhere, at any moment, and serves as the backbone for a broader digital ecosystem? Mobile Money is not just another service to be bundled into an app. In practice, users encounter financial needs across a variety of contexts: topping up mobile data, paying utility bills, sending money to friends, or making small purchases. The true value lies in making Mobile Money ever-present—integrated seamlessly across all digital touchpoints, rather than isolated within a single application. Looking at the Chinese fintech experience, market leaders such as Alipay and WeChat did not dominate by launching standalone finance apps. Instead, they embedded payments and financial services into social, commerce, and mobility scenarios—transforming themselves into platforms that power a wide array of digital experiences. For telcos in Africa, Latin America, or South Asia, this suggests a practical path forward: Develop Mobile Money as a modular capability, accessible via SDKs and APIs across all digital channels—main apps, mini apps, partner platforms, and even USSD. Establish a Financial Capability Registry: a centralized directory of services (transfer, payments, credit, etc.) available for both internal and external use. Reimagine the main self-service app as a container or service launcher, rather than a monolithic solution. This shift enables greater flexibility, rapid innovation, and the ability to leverage ecosystem partnerships. Ultimately, the real competitive advantage is not in owning more apps, but in being present at more moments in a user's digital journey. Telecom operators should look beyond simple integration and embrace financial services as embedded infrastructure—fluid, scalable, and ready for the ecosystem era. The convergence of finance and everyday scenarios is where the future truly lies.
