APEXX Payments Marketplace Debuts In Russia; Citcon Connects With ACCEO For Mobile Payments

Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes the debut of global payment marketplace APEXX’s solution in Russia. Citcon is collaborating with ACCEO to enable acceptance of Chinese payment methods WeChat Pay and Alipay, OVO is working with Bareksa to add a feature for mutual funds investments to improve financial literacy in Indonesia and Bank of China (Hong Kong) will let its current clients open one-stop bank accounts with Bank of China that are linked to mobile payments.

Global payment marketplace APEXX has brought its solution to Russia to enable payment processing with the national Mir system, according to reports. It was also reported that APEXX is connected to Sberbank, Alpha Bank and VTB, which are the three biggest banks in the country. As a result, it is “possible to route all transactions back to the issuing bank.” APEXX CEO Peter Keenan said, according to reports, “There is a huge appetite for international brands in Russia and eCommerce growth is higher there than across the rest of Europe. Being able to offer our solution in Russia is a huge milestone for APEXX and our customers.”

And Bank of China (Hong Kong) will let is current clients open bank accounts with Bank of China — and they will not have to visit the mainland, the South China Morning Post reported. With the new one-stop bank account, clients can either use an option that lets them access teller machines throughout the mainland or one that has a lower transaction limit that doesn’t’ come with access to the machines. However, each option is said to be linked to offerings like Alipay and WeChat Pay. Bank of China (Hong Kong) Deputy Chief Executive Ann Kung said the bank “will continue to expedite the innovation of cross-border financial products and services to [fulfill] the demand for cross-border financial services among those Hong Kong people who work, live and travel in the Greater Bay Area.”

On another note, cashless payment offering OVO is working with Bareksa to add a feature for mutual funds investments, KrASIA reported. Through the tie-up, users of OVO can reportedly invest with interest rates topping 5 percent to 6 percent annually. Bareksa CEO Karaniya Dharmasaputra said, according to the report, “Our main goal is to improve financial literacy in Indonesia, especially to increase awareness of the importance of investing.” Bareksa, which was started in 2013, is an Indonesian mutual funds platform, and OVO is described as a mobile wallet that is integrated into two large digital platforms in the country.

And mobile payment and marketing platform Citcon is working with ACCEO to enable acceptance of WeChat Pay and Alipay for more retailers in North America, the companies said in an announcement. As it stands, ACCEO Tender Retail supports a “direct-to-processor” solution and is said to provide retailers with the ability to select as well as change their payment hardware and processor. ACCEO Vice President of Acquirer Relations and Product Innovation Michael Loftus said in the press release, “Acceptance of WeChat Pay and Alipay will be very beneficial to our retailers in expanding their reach to new consumers and an expanded capability to accept alternative forms of payment.”