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Malaysian zakat institutions are adopting artificial intelligence and biometric authentication to strengthen cybersecurity in digital zakat payments, moving from reactive fraud response to proactive threat detection.
ASEAN+3 economies must coordinate efforts in artificial intelligence, renewable energy, and local digital payments to curb growing dependence on the US dollar, says regional think tank.
A New York state judge has rejected Zelle's attempt to dismiss a fraud lawsuit brought by Attorney General Letitia James, clearing the way for the case to proceed against the bank-backed payment platform accused of enabling over $1 billion in consumer losses.
PayPal, the digital payments pioneer that once dominated the sector, is facing a $53 billion takeover bid from Stripe and Advent International. The company's board views the offer as insufficient, reflecting a dramatic decline from its 2021 peak valuation of $360 billion.
Digital payments from international visitors using Alipay+ in Malaysia jumped nearly 90% to RM824 million in 2025, reflecting growing reliance on mobile wallets and boosting local tourism revenue.
Japanese police have arrested nine people for running an illegal payment system that enabled residents to gamble at overseas online casinos. The operation involved approximately 340 billion yen in wagers.
The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency has opened an internal investigation into claims that one of its officers at KLIA Terminal 2 accepted a RM100 personal QR payment, raising fresh concerns about financial misconduct at Malaysia's busiest airport gateway.
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Indonesia and India are accelerating financial cooperation through a cross-border QR payment initiative, while Super Typhoon Inday threatens the Philippines. Regional developments include Singapore's tourism transformation and Thailand's push for lower fuel prices.