Activity in Asia’s remittance market shows no signs of slowing down as a flurry of partnerships and new product launches signal growing interest in the sector. In China, Xoom, the digital remittance subsidiary of PayPal announced a partnership with Tencent to enable Weixin Pay users to receive funds in their Weixin Pay wallets or bank accounts. This collaboration is aimed at providing more options for customers to remit funds to China, in particular customers in the U.S., Canada and Europe which are markets that have high value and volume of remittance outflows to China. Xoom has previously collaborated with Alipay to enable cross-border payments to AliPay users in China, so this new tie up with Weixin Pay will help strengthen Xoom’s presence in China.

In a strategic leap that exemplifies the fusion of global fintech ambition and hyperlocal consumer behavior, Stripe has expanded its partnership with Tencent to enable in-person payments via Weixin Pay (also known as WeChat Pay) on Stripe Terminal across 20 countries. This move is more than a technical integration, it is a bold acknowledgment of how commerce is evolving to accommodate cultural and digital fluidity.

In a significant stride towards regional financial integration, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has officially joined the Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) initiative. This move not only marks Cambodia’s deepening engagement in ASEAN’s digital financial ecosystem but also underscores the broader ambitions of the bloc to streamline and modernize cross-border payments.

This is the fourth and final blog in our series on Digital Asset Custody, in partnership with Ripple. The first blog in the series highlighted the rise of digital assets in Asia Pacific, exploring the opportunities and challenges for custodian banks in this growing space. The second blog explored how strategic partnerships with established technology providers enable custodian banks to efficiently and securely navigate the complexities of digital asset custody. The third blog looked at tokenization use cases and how these are transforming traditional financial assets.

In the ever-evolving digital banking space, innovation is not just about sleek apps or cashback cards, it is about anticipating real-world needs and closing the gaps traditional banks often leave wide open. MariBank, a digital bank backed by tech giant Sea Group, has just done exactly that by becoming the first digital bank in Singapore to offer remittance services to both retail and SME customers. With this move, it is not only breaking new ground, it is redefining the role digital banks can play in cross-border finance.

In a pivotal leap forward for global finance, Nexus Global Payments (NGP) has officially launched, ushering in a new chapter for cross-border transactions. Born from a bold vision seeded by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in 2021, what began as a proof-of-concept has now matured into an operational reality. The shift marks not only a technological milestone but a profound transformation in how countries could approach international payments going forward.

LankaPay, Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network, has partnered with Ant International to launch Alipay+ in the country. In the first phase of the launch, 14 international digital wallets, which are partnered with Alipay+, will be made available to over 400,000 LANKAQR merchants in Sri Lanka. LANKAQR is the country’s national QR code standard introduced by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. This partnership comes at an opportune moment as travel to Asia has been gaining momentum and is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels this year. Tourists and business travelers from China, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Italy will now be able to scan the LANKAQR code and make payments using their preferred home payment app.

The digital banking landscape in Asia has undergone a remarkable transformation, with leading institutions setting new benchmarks in innovation, customer experience, and financial inclusion. The Banker’s 2025 ranking of top digital banks in Asia highlights key players that are redefining the region’s banking sector through cutting-edge technology, strategic partnerships, and a customer-centric approach.

Sam Altman’s World Network is reportedly in discussions with Visa to integrate stablecoin payments into its self-custody crypto wallet, a move that could significantly impact the evolving intersection of traditional finance and digital assets. If successful, this initiative would allow users to spend stablecoins at any merchant that accepts Visa, effectively bridging the gap between the crypto economy and the mainstream financial system. With stablecoins emerging as a preferred digital asset for payments due to their price stability, this collaboration signals a broader shift toward the adoption of blockchain-based financial services. 

Competition remains fierce in Southeast Asia’s digital banking market, especially among major brands linked to super-apps such as ride-hailing app Grab (GXS Bank) and Sea Limited (SeaBank and Maribank), which operates the Shopee eCommerce platform and gaming platform Garena. While Revolut and Chime can generally be regarded as the digital banking leaders in Europe and America, respectively, the race for supremacy in digital banking is still hotly contested in Southeast Asia as regulators continue to hand out digital banking licenses to both neobanks and traditional incumbent banks.