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Rakuten links up with Alibaba’s Alipay payment service to increase its focus on China

Apr18
by on April 18, 2014 at 10:41 am
Posted In: Alipay, Around the Web, Asia, Japan, rakuten

Japanese e-commerce firm Rakuten is increasing its focus on China after it announced a partnership with Alipay, the Alibaba-affiliated payment platform, to make it easier for shoppers in China to buy goods from its global site. Rakuten Global Market, the international branch of Rakuten’s domestic Ichiba marketplace service, has now added Alipay to its payment options. Parent firm Alibaba is China’s dominant online retail firm, but Rakuten’s service offers access to goods from retailers in Japan and other countries. Right now, 10,000 of the 42,000 ‘shops’ listed on Rakuten Ichiba sell goods internationally. An initial 250 will support payment via Alipay,…

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a couple of laughzillas on a blue diamond background

A Facebook e-money service could be a big hit in Asia

Apr18
by on April 18, 2014 at 7:03 am
Posted In: Around the Web, Asia

Facebook employee
Reports this week suggest that Facebook is preparing to launch an e-money service. The Financial Times believes that the US company is weeks away from gaining regulatory approval in Ireland for a service that would let users store money on Facebook and use it to pay others. Facebook declined to comment on the report and its exact goals are unclear at this point. Forbes reports that Facebook has already obtained Money Services Business (MSB) licenses in 48 U.S. states, so it is planning something global, but the publication highlights a valid question: do users trust Facebook to handle their money? Asia:…

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