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In this issue of the PaymentEye e-newsletter, Oscar Nieboer, CMO, Paysafe, explores why ‘contact’ is still essential in the world of contactless payments.

Elsewhere, Sean Norris, Executive Vice President EMEA & APAC and Meredith Wisniewski, Portfolio Marketing Manager, Accuity, explain how payment certainty propels business across borders, and Alipay announce their partnership with Merlin Entertainments to allow Chinese tourists to user their home currency at tourist spots across London.

Psychologists broadly agree that it takes up to 254 days to form habitual behaviour. It is impressive, therefore, that a near doubling in the use of contactless cards led to debit cards overtaking cash transactions at the end of 2017, according to UK Finance.

While the aspiration of international expansion may be compelling, it is important to take into consideration that doing it successfully requires more than just ambition and a popular product.

Stanislav Panov, Business Development Manager (APAC) at international payment service provider ECOMMPAY, shares three key observations regarding business trends within the Asia Pacific region.

The partnership allows Chinese tourists to use their Alipay lifestyle app across all of Merlin’s London attractions, including the Coca-Cola London Eye and the London Dungeon.

On Sunday, July 1st, ATM fees were reduced from 25p to 20p across the UK. The move is expected prompt further ATM closures across the country.

Huge volatility and emerging institutional interest in the cryptocurrency market have made many traders incredibly wealthy, but the dark underbelly rarely discussed is the new wave of crypto trading addiction.