A trio of Asia-based payment providers have teamed to help bolster cross-border digital wallet transactions.<\/p>\n
The Digital Wallet Guardian Partnership,\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0Thursday (Sept. 11), comes as digital wallets grow in popularity with consumers in Asia and around the globe.<\/p>\n With this partnership, tech giant\u00a0Ant International<\/a>\u00a0will join forces with e-wallet companies\u00a0AlipayHK<\/a> from Hong Kong and Malaysia\u2019s TNG<\/a>\u00a0to develop safety solutions for digital wallets using technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and privacy-preserving computing.<\/p>\n The companies will also work together on sharing knowledge and launch awareness campaigns to educate consumers and merchants on how to avoid various risks.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile AI enhances our ability to manage risks, it also introduces new challenges that we must proactively address,\u201d said Tianyi Zhang, general manager of risk management and cybersecurity at Ant International.<\/p>\n \u201cThrough this partnership, Ant International is dedicated to working closely with our partners to co-develop and share advanced risk-management capabilities. Together, we aim to stay ahead of emerging threats, making digital wallets more secure, so as to drive growth in global travel and commerce,\u201d added Zhang.<\/p>\n Research by PYMNTS Intelligence has charted the popularity of digital wallets in Southeast Asia. For example, the report\u00a0\u201cGlobal Money Movement: Singapore Edition<\/a>\u201d\u00a0found that 56% of people and 84% of merchants in that city-state were either very or extremely familiar with using digital wallets to conduct cross-border transactions.<\/p>\n As noted here earlier this year, this gap in familiarity suggests that although businesses are often equipped with the resources to embrace new payment technologies, consumers may lag because of limited knowledge.<\/p>\n \u201cThe drivers behind\u00a0digital wallet adoption<\/a>\u00a0are complex and shaped by a myriad of economic, demographic and technological factors,\u201d PYMNTS wrote. \u201cYet by understanding and embracing critical areas for growth, digital wallet providers could play a pivotal role in bridging the knowledge and usage gap.\u201d<\/p>\n Broader research by PYMNTS Intelligence \u2014 expanded to include Saudi Arabia, the U.S. and the U.K. as well as Singapore \u2014 finds that\u00a042% of consumers<\/a>\u00a0already prefer to make and receive cross-border payments using digital wallets, more than any other payment method, including money transfer services and bank account transfers.<\/p>\n