Western Union Teams With HKT Payment Limited, Maybank Brings QR Payments To KFC Malyasia

Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes The Western Union Company’s tie-up with Hong Kong’s HKT Payment Limited for money transfers. In addition, MAYBANK is working with KFC Malaysia to bring QR code payments to restaurants in Malaysia and the Duty Free Philippines (DFPC) is planning to take Alipay and WeChat payments.

The Western Union Company has teamed up with Hong Kong’s HKT Payment Limited for international money transfers, the companies said in an announcement. With the collaboration, users of Tap & Go use their mobile wallets to send money via Western Union’s website and mobile app for payout at over 525,000 Western Union Agent locations around the world. Western Union Senior Vice President & General Manager for Global Money Transfer in Asia Pacific Molly Shea said in the announcement, “we are delighted to be able to extend our service offerings to customers in Hong Kong and provide them with multiple options to choose from, to pay for their transactions online and send money to their families back home.”

And, in Malaysia, Maybank is working with KFC Malaysia to bring QR code payments to quick-service restaurants (QSRs), The Star reported. To use the function, customers use a “Pay” feature within the app to create a QR Code. That code, in turn, is read at the point of sale through a card terminal scanner. According to the report, the payment offering has been launched at 11 locations. But the system will reportedly come to KFCs across the country “by the first quarter of 2019,” according to the paper. Maybank Group President and Chief Executive Officer Datuk Abdul Farid Alias said per the outlet that the tie-up is “aimed at enhancing customer experience through a payment eco-system that will further minimise the need for carrying cash while also benefitting merchants in many ways.”

On another note, Duty Free Philippines (DFPC) plans to begin taking Alipay and WeChat payments prior to the close of November, the Philippine News Agency reported. As it stands, the report noted that WeChat and Alipay count roughly 700 million to 800 million Chinese users and over a million visitors from China are forecasted to visit the country prior to the close of 2018. DFPC Chief Operating Officer Vicente Angala said, according to the report, that the offering shows that the organization “continues to expand its services to reach the shopping needs of its consumers.”