Latest news with #CUBC
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cathay United Bank Cambodia Launches "CUBC Payment Link Portal", Enabling Seamless and Secure Transactions for the Tourism Industry
SIEM REAP, Cambodia, April 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Cathay United Bank (CUB) has been providing innovative and convenient financial services in Cambodia since 2023 through its expertise in digital finance. In response to the growing demand in Cambodia's tourism industry, Cathay United Bank Cambodia (CUBC) has partnered with Mastercard to launch the "CUBC Payment Link Portal (CPL)", a secure and user-friendly payment platform that enables hospitality providers to accept online payments via Mastercard and Visa, without the need to set up their own website or mobile app. By simply logging into the service's portal, a payment link can be quickly generated, with a focus on collaborating with accommodation providers. According to Cambodia's Ministry of Tourism, the country welcomed 6.7 million international visitors in 2024, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and demonstrating a strong recovery in the tourism industry. TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel platform, also ranked Siem Reap and Phnom Penh among the "Top 25 Travel Destinations in Asia." Cambodia's coastal and provincial regions have gained popularity among international visitors for their eco-tourism opportunities, allowing travelers to explore the country's natural beauty and rich cultural heritage. CUBC has observed this trend. Yeh, President of CUBC, notes that more travelers now prefer to book customized itineraries—such as local market tours, cooking classes, or cycling trips—before arriving at the destination. Meanwhile, hospitality providers generally prefer to receive payments in advance to secure reservations. However, major booking platforms do not always meet these requirements. To bridge this gap, CUBC has introduced the CPL, allowing hospitality providers to offer tailored travel packages and accept international payments online. They can also offer exclusive direct booking benefits, such as room upgrades or complimentary spa treatments, helping them stay competitive in Cambodia's tourism industry. Moreover, the CPL offers additional features tailored to hospitality providers. Users can create and manage product lists, eliminating the need to manually enter service details for each transaction. The platform also features automated notifications, sending booking details and payment confirmations to both businesses and customers via e-mail or messaging apps. Additionally, the CPL dashboard allows businesses to track bookings and payment status across desktops, tablets, or mobile devices, ensuring efficient order and revenue management. CUBC has been at the forefront of digital transformation, continuously improving its services to support businesses and customers. In 2023, it launched the CUBC new mBanking app, allowing users to transfer funds and make KHQR payments. Now, with the CPL in 2025, businesses can generate secure payment links without the need to set up their own website or checkout page. These links can be sent directly to customers via messaging apps, email, or SMS, ensuring seamless transactions. Payments made through the CPL are safeguarded by EMV 3DS 2.0 authentication, offering fraud protection and enhanced security. CUBC warmly invites hospitality businesses to apply for the CPL and take advantage of Cambodia's growing tourism market. The service offers easy operation for businesses and secure transactions for travelers. Businesses that sign up before the end of the year can enjoy an exclusive promotional offer. For more details, please visit any CUBC branch or View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Cathay United Bank Cambodia Sign in to access your portfolio
Telegraph
19-03-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
Boat Race dispute deepens with Olympic champion facing ban after ‘slimy' Oxford tactics
The bitter row to engulf this year's Boat Race has deepened with three more Cambridge rowers – including reigning Olympic champion Tom Ford – unable to take part. Ford and the Cambridge women's team's 2025 and 2024 presidents, Dr Lucy Havard and Jenna Armstrong, face joining three trainee teachers who have been blocked from entering next month's showdown on the Thames. What was branded 'a desperate ploy from Oxford to gain an upper hand in the most slimy way' by Olympic champion Imogen Grant follows its defeats in five of the last six men's and all of the last seven women's races. Telegraph Sport has been told that Ford, who stroked Great Britain to Paris 2024 gold last summer before starting a Masters of Business Administration course at Cambridge, is at the centre of an increasingly-acrimonious dispute between Britain's two oldest universities. It follows a crackdown on elite-level 'ringers' entering the Boat Race in the wake of double-Olympic champion James Cracknell becoming its oldest winner, at 46, back in 2019, 13 years after his competitive retirement. The rules of the race, the so-called 'Joint Agreement' between Oxford University Boat Club (OUBC) and Cambridge University Boat Club (CUBC), were changed in 2021 with the intention of preventing anyone competing more than 12 years after beginning an undergraduate degree course. Ford, who began a BA in Geography and Town Planning at University almost 14 years ago, is not currently listed on the CUBC men's squad on the Boat Race's official website. But, on March 2, the 32-year-old stroked their 'provisional Blue Boat' (their Boat Race crew) to victory against Olympic silver medalists the Netherlands in two 'preparation' races for next month's event. Havard – who started a PhD in history at Cambridge in 2022 and is listed among the CUBC's women's squad – embarked upon a medical degree at University College London in 2007. Meanwhile, US-born Armstrong – who is studying for a postgraduate degree in physiology – is known to have taken up rowing in 2011 while an undergraduate. To add intrigue to the current row, Havard and Armstrong both competed for Cambridge last year, in the reserve and main races, respectively, despite it having been more than 12 years since they began their undergraduate degrees. Telegraph Sport has also been told that there had previously been the prospect of Ford ending up enroling at Oxford instead of Cambridge. The 12-year rule was agreed by both boat clubs but sources have suggested Cambridge have secured a legal opinion that it could be deemed 'discriminatory', with one questioning whether Oxford would have sought to do the same had Ford been a student there. All this is said to have led to Oxford successfully challenging the eligibility of three Cambridge Post Graduate Certificate of Education (PGCE) students – former men's Under-23 world champion Matt Heywood, and women's squad members Molly Foxell and cox Kate Crowley. That is despite PGCE students having long competed for both Oxford and Cambridge unchallenged under rules governing the race. Sources have suggested Havard, Armstrong, Foxell and Crowley had become collateral damage in a dispute about Ford and, to a lesser extent, Heywood, amid a years-long debate about whether the Boat Race should be an 'elite' event or a competition between young amateurs. 'This debate didn't start with James Cracknell,' one former Cambridge competitor told Telegraph Sport, pointing out Oxford's men's winning boat in 2013 and 2014 had included Canada's Beijing 2008 champion Malcolm Howard. 'It's really the men's clubs driving it by saying, 'This degree course is bogus', or, 'You've funded this person'. 'Particularly on the women's side, there has been a dialogue. The toxicity of where the men's club is coming from has blasted any of that away. 'It's like, 'Let's win by stopping you being able to row'. That's not good, is it? If you win this race and you stop people rowing, is that going to feel good?'
