Round-the-clock breaking news from Malaysia.
Mastercard experienced a significant service disruption across Australia on Saturday, affecting thousands of customers attempting card payments, cash withdrawals, and digital wallet transactions. Commonwealth Bank identified a global Mastercard systems issue as the cause.
Visa is acquiring fraud intelligence provider BioCatch for $2.4 billion, strengthening its cybersecurity arsenal as payment processors face escalating fraud threats powered by artificial intelligence.
PayPal, once valued at $360 billion, is now facing an unsolicited $53 billion takeover bid from Stripe and Advent International. The digital payments pioneer has struggled with slowing growth, competitive pressure from Apple Pay, and failed turnaround efforts.
Alipay+ transaction volumes surged 89.6% to RM824 million in 2025 as foreign tourists, particularly from China, increasingly use digital payments in Malaysia. The growth continues through early 2026.
The Malaysian Border Control and Protection Agency has initiated an internal investigation into allegations that a traveller made an RM100 payment to a KLIA 2 officer through a personal QR code, raising fresh concerns about corruption at Malaysia's major aviation hub.