India Puts the Brakes on Alipay+’s Cross-Border Payments Push
Hey Payments Fanatic!
Cross-border payments sound simple until national security enters the conversation.
Alipay+ wanted to connect with India’s UPI system, allowing Indian travellers to use their familiar payment rails across China, Hong Kong and other markets.
But the proposal has now been stalled.
According to sources, Indian authorities raised concerns around data storage, potential breaches and money laundering risks, while the foreign ministry pointed to political considerations behind the decision.
It’s a useful reminder that building global payment connectivity isn’t only about interoperability. Data, regulation and geopolitics can be just as important as the technology connecting the two systems.
Meanwhile, Stripe and Adyen are showing a very different side of the payments story — with Stripe posting 41% revenue growth and Adyen delivering a 49% EBITDA margin in H1 2026.
Let’s get into today’s Payments stories. 👇 See you on Monday!
Cheers,
INSIGHTS
Stripe +41% revenue growth. Adyen a 49% EBITDA margin 🤯
Here's the H1 2026 comparison Stripe 🆚 Adyen:

NEWS
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🇺🇸 MassPay launches MassPay Collect, a new product designed for stablecoin payment collection. The tool expands MassPay's payout infrastructure into inbound stablecoin flows for businesses.
🌏 Minor Hotels partners with Checkout.com to power payments across its portfolio of 640+ hotels in 67 countries. The deal brings AI-driven optimization and domestic acquiring to improve authorization rates globally.
🌍 Revolut and Yuno partner to give merchants one-click access to Revolut's full payment stack. The integration bundles Revolut Pay, acquiring, and gateway services across the UK, EEA, Singapore, and Australia.
🇨🇩 Nomba raises $3M in debt from CardinalStone Finance to expand cross-border payments infrastructure out of the DRC. The company processes over $480M monthly and is targeting $1B in monthly cross-border volume.
🇺🇸 TabaPay closes $155M in financing and has agreed to acquire a bank. The deal strengthens TabaPay's position as it builds out its payments and banking infrastructure.
🇬🇧 Laters.com raises $1.5M in a seed round led by XBO Ventures. Formerly known as Fly Fairly, the startup is building flexible travel payment solutions beyond cards.
🌏 Bybit Pay partners with Mesh to expand digital asset payments across Mesh-powered platforms. The integration lets Bybit's 80 million users spend digital assets without manual withdrawals or conversions.
🇺🇸 Chainlink partners with Bottomline to explore blockchain-based cross-border payments for over 600 banking clients. Chainlink will serve as an interoperability layer connecting Bottomline's infrastructure to public and permissioned blockchain networks.
🇮🇳 PayPal cuts about 600 jobs in India, reducing roughly 10% of its 6,000 plus workforce. The layoffs span technology, engineering, and finance teams as PayPal targets $1.5B in run-rate savings.
🇸🇬 WasabiCard expands global payroll and creator payouts for livestreaming businesses. The stablecoin-powered platform supports bulk payouts and local fiat settlement across 200+ countries and regions.
🇵🇭 GCash launches GSukli, a feature that turns loose change into digital wallet funds for free. The service is live at all Bench branches in the Philippines, with more retail brands expected to follow.
🇿🇦 PhotonPay launches local account capability in South Africa, enabling global businesses to collect ZAR through domestic payment networks. The new capability connects local collections to PhotonPay's unified global financial operating system.
🇮🇳 India stalls Alipay's payments link over security and data concerns, according to sources. Officials have paused the approval process, blocking Alipay from connecting to India's payments infrastructure.
🇺🇸 X shifts U.S. creator payouts from Stripe to X Money, making all payments instant with no minimum threshold. Creators using the Original Content Rewards Program and Subscriptions now receive funds the moment they are sent.
🇦🇪 XTransfer secures in-principle approval for a retail payment services licence from the UAE Central Bank. The approval will enable the B2B platform to serve mainland UAE clients with regulated cross-border payment services.
🇬🇧 EcommPay rolls out QR code payments for merchants across its network. The new feature lets customers initiate payments by scanning a QR code at checkout.
🇸🇦 PayTic expands into Saudi Arabia to power AI-driven payment operations with market entry support from AstroLabs. The Canadian-Moroccan FinTech offers AI-powered components that help organizations build and operate payment systems at scale.
🇮🇳 WhatsApp will soon let users make bill payments in India, expanding its in-app financial services. The feature will allow users to settle utility and other bills directly within WhatsApp.
🇫🇷 Adyen and GetYourGuide celebrate 15 years of partnership powering payments for the global travel experiences platform. Adyen's local acquiring network helps GetYourGuide localize payment methods across international markets.
Trusted reach among senior decision-makers in FinTech, Payments & Banking.
👉 Explore Partnership here

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