Top News In Payments: China Allows PayPal To Operate; Mastercard Outlines Blockchain Intentions

In today’s payments news, China has allowed PayPal to operate in the country with its purchase of a majority stake in GoPay. Also, Mastercard has outlined its intentions with blockchain following its high-profile Libra Association exit. And Apple Pay is reportedly being investigated by the European Commission.

Chinese Shoppers Will Have PayPal Access By Year End

China has allowed PayPal to operate in the country with its purchase of a majority stake in GoPay. Approximately $39 trillion in mobile payments were made in China in the past year. The move is said to signal China’s willingness to open up its payment industry to foreign investors after similar forays in the securities, investment and insurance areas.

EU Watchdog Probes Apple Pay Over Anticompetitive Conduct

Apple Pay is reportedly being investigated by the European Commission again. Antitrust regulators are reportedly gathering information from other payment companies when it comes to Apple’s marketplace decorum. A European Commission spokesperson told one outlet that the watchdog agency was investigating “possible anti-competitive market practices and abusive conduct.”

Authorities Demand Accounting Details From Germany’s Wirecard

Germany-based Wirecard is facing demands from analysts for comprehensive information when it comes to its bookkeeping practices after reportedly trying to discredit a report about its accounting practices. The report about the digital payments company’s suspect accounting resulted from an FT investigation released on Oct. 15. An FT report — using documents that were reportedly provided by a whistleblower — seemed to reveal a collaborative effort to overstate earnings at Wirecard subsidiaries in Dublin and Dubai.

Mastercard Outlines Blockchain Principles After Leaving Libra

Mastercard has outlined its intentions with blockchain after its high profile exit from the Libra Association. The company said for a digital currency to be successful, it must provide not only consumer protections and stability but regulatory compliance as well.

The company said good portion of the 2,600 digital currencies available right now don’t do that at all. It noted that “having operated multiple secure, safe, scalable payment networks around the world for many years, Mastercard is committed to bringing that experience to emerging blockchain networks and digital currencies.”

Why Simple And Instant Is The Secret To Making Rebates Truly Rewarding

Rebates and cash-back offers sound great in theory, but the actual experience of accessing or cashing in a rebate often leaves much to be desired. The problem, Ingo Money CEO Drew Edwards told Karen Webster in this week’s edition of “How To Instant,” is friction — and the fact that if a consumer must work hard to chase a rebate, and receive it through paper check at the conclusion of the process, they are likely going to bail out.

How Pre-Authorization Risk Checks Are Payments Wave Of The Future

Merchants stand to make significant gains from the further use of pre-authorization risk checks when it comes to consumer payments. That was among the main messages offered by Payments Risk Solutions Manager Dan Jiao of global identity verification service provider Ekata in a recent PYMNTS discussion. He provided a detailed view of the payment changes to come next year — and made a case about why pre-authorization risk checks hold so much promise for eCommerce operators in the few years to come.