• A strategic partnership strengthening the region’s leading destination for Korean beauty
• ⁠Bringing globally loved Korean skincare closer through a seamless customer experience
• ⁠A long-term vision to shape the next chapter of K-Beauty in the Middle East

HAWALLY, Kuwait, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Korea Town by Boutiqaat proudly announces the official launch of AXIS-Y, one of Korea’s most recognized skincare brands, marking another milestone in its mission to bring the latest innovations in Korean beauty closer to customers across the GCC and the Middle East. Renowned for its ingredient-focused philosophy and climate-inspired formulations, AXIS-Y further reinforces Korea Town’s position as the region’s premier K-beauty destination.

Korea Town’s expansion strategy continues to gain momentum with nine stores in Kuwait, the recent opening of its flagship in The Avenues, Bahrain, and the upcoming launch of a new store in Qatar. As part of this regional growth, AXIS-Y will be introduced across additional Korea Town locations, ensuring greater accessibility for skincare enthusiasts throughout the Gulf.

Looking ahead, Korea Town by Boutiqaat aims to expand its regional presence by the end of 2027 through new store openings, strategic K-beauty partnerships, and stronger offline-to-online customer experiences, building the GCC’s most connected and inspiring K-beauty ecosystem.

Souha Hasan, General Manager of Korea Town by Boutiqaat, said: “Our partnership with AXIS-Y represents more than a brand launch—it reflects Korea Town’s long-term vision of making authentic Korean beauty more accessible across the GCC and the Middle East. As we continue expanding our retail footprint, we remain committed to delivering an integrated omnichannel experience that connects customers with the very best of K-Beauty.”

The partnership introduces AXIS-Y through a seamless customer journey combining immersive retail experiences, brand activations, and digital accessibility. Customers can discover the brand across Korea Town stores while also shopping the full AXIS-Y range online through Boutiqaat, expanding convenient access across the GCC and the Middle East.

Globally recognized for its innovative skincare and hero products such as the Dark Spot Correcting Glow Serum, AXIS-Y delivers targeted solutions for dark spots, uneven skin tone, sensitivity, dehydration, and skin barrier health. Its climate-conscious approach makes the brand highly relevant to today’s discerning beauty consumers and a new generation of skincare enthusiasts.

Contact:
[email protected] 

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SOURCE Boutiqaat Group For Perfumes & Beauty Products

Angels & Mara transforms temples, museums, landmarks and public spaces into an art route for culture-led travel

BANGKOK, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — The Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) is highlighting Bangkok Art Biennale 2026 (BAB 2026) as a citywide contemporary art experience that will strengthen Bangkok’s position as a global art destination. Scheduled from 29 October 2026 to 28 February 2027 under an Angels & Mara theme, the fifth edition brings Thai and international artists into dialogue with the capital’s heritage, spirituality, urban life and creative future.

TAT Governor Ms. Thapanee Kiatphaibool said, “Bangkok Art Biennale 2026 reflects TAT’s direction to position Thailand as a high-value and meaningful destination, where culture, creativity and contemporary identity create deeper reasons to travel. By turning Bangkok into a citywide platform for artistic discovery, Angels & Mara strengthens the Thai capital’s global visibility, supports the Festival Economy, and connects visitors with experiences that bring together heritage, imagination and the creative energy of Amazing Thailand.”

Angels & Mara shapes the citywide platform that explores the tension between guardians of light and forces of temptation. Drawing on religious, cultural and philosophical traditions, BAB 2026 examines the dualities that define modern life, from hope and despair to spirituality and materialism, memory and forgetting, desire and restraint. Set in Bangkok, whose Thai name, Krung Thep, means City of Angels, the theme gives visitors a deeper look into the capital, while offering artists a powerful framework to reflect on the uncertainty, conflict and transformation of modern life.

The programme features a growing roster of artists and collectives from Thailand and around the world, working across painting, sculpture, photography, performance art, film and multimedia. The line-up reinforces BAB 2026 as an international platform for artistic dialogue, stimulating conversation across cultures, generations and disciplines.

BAB 2026 will unfold across temples, museums, cultural institutions, educational spaces and major public venues. Locations include Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn), Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha), Wat Prayoon (Temple of the Iron Fences), Museum Siam, Bangkok Art and Culture Centre, One Bangkok, centralwOrld, Siam Paragon, the National Museum Bangkok and the Art Centre, Silpakorn University. Together, these venues connect Bangkok’s historic quarters, riverfront communities, civic landmarks and emerging areas, offering visitors a new art route to explore the capital.

Against this urban backdrop, TAT will connect BAB 2026 with Thailand’s wider tourism appeal, encouraging visitors to experience Bangkok through contemporary art, heritage sites, creative districts and everyday city life. This approach supports culture-led travel and reinforces the capital as a place where heritage, creativity and contemporary urban culture converge.

The festival is a collaboration of Thailand’s cultural, tourism, government and private-sector partners, with Thai Beverage Public Company Limited as a major supporter since 2018. This shared commitment reinforces Bangkok’s appeal as a regional centre for contemporary art and extends the value of art into tourism, education, public engagement and the wider economy.

Founded in 2017 and first staged in 2018, Bangkok Art Biennale was created to transform Bangkok into one of Southeast Asia’s leading modern art destinations. Previous editions have attracted more than 3.5 million visitors and presented works by over 300 artists from Asia, Europe, the Americas, Oceania and Africa. Meanwhile, the pandemic-era BAB Virtual Venue reached over 2.3 million online viewers worldwide.

More information, including the latest participating artists, artworks, venues and public programmes, is available through official Bangkok Art Biennale channels.

Website: www.tatnews.org

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SOURCE Tourism Authority of Thailand

Targeted recycling policies would deliver 68% greater recycling gains than a 5% virgin plastic production cap while supporting affordability by minimizing impacts on household welfare

BRUSSELS, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Focusing waste collection and recycling policies where they can reduce the most mismanaged waste could achieve the same reduction in plastic leakage as a global cap on virgin plastics production, but at substantially lower economic costs and significantly more plastics recycling, according to a new Oxford Economics study commissioned by the International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA).

Evaluating Policy Pathways to End Plastic Pollution is the second phase of Oxford Economics’ analysis for ICCA. It builds on the 2024 study, Mapping the Plastics Value Chain, which documented the plastics industry’s global economic footprint and examined the potential consequences of constraining production.

The report’s main comparison is between a scenario with a modest 5% cap on virgin plastics production (Scenario 1) and a scenario that targets stronger collection and recycling incentives to regions with the greatest potential to reduce mismanaged plastic waste (Scenario 2a).

Oxford Economics used the modeled leakage outcome under a 5% production cap as a common benchmark to calibrate the remaining scenarios. This allowed the study to compare each scenario’s effects on recycling, prices, output and welfare on equal terms.

Compared with the 5% production cap scenario, targeted collection and recycling policies and incentives would deliver:

• More recycling: a 33.6 million metric ton increase, compared with 19.9 million metric tons under the cap, yielding approximately 68% more recycled plastic.
• Stable plastic prices: a 0.2% decline in total plastic prices (combining virgin and recycled plastic prices), compared with an 8.5% increase under the cap, which has the potential to raise costs on consumers, disproportionately impacting low-income households.
• Far less harm to consumers: a $0.5 billion decline in global household welfare, a measure of the real value of goods and services consumed by households, compared with a $128.4 billion decline under the cap.
• Stronger economic performance: a $0.2 billion increase in global output, compared with a $20.2 billion decline under the cap.

These effects would be felt around the world, though their scale would vary significantly by region. Under the production cap scenario, household welfare would decline by $38.5 billion in East Asia, $37.7 billion in Western Europe, $22.1 billion in North America, $8.8 billion in Southeast Asia, $6.1 billion in the Middle East and $6.0 billion in Latin America. Every region modeled would experience a decline in household welfare.

“Plastics are deeply embedded in products and supply chains, and other materials cannot readily replace them in many applications,” said Alice Gambarin, one of the report’s authors and associate director at Oxford Economics. “That makes demand for plastics relatively inelastic. When virgin supply is capped, demand does not simply disappear or shift to other materials. Instead, prices rise across the plastics value chain, increasing costs for businesses and consumers and lowering household welfare.”

In contrast, targeting recycling incentives according to each region’s potential to reduce mismanaged waste would achieve the same global leakage reduction at far lower economic cost. In that scenario, recycling could increase by 20.5 million metric tons in South Asia and 13.7 million metric tons in East Asia, the two regions where the model identified the greatest absolute opportunity for improvement.

“This study shows that environmental ambition and economic well-being do not have to be in conflict,” said Marco Mensink, ICCA council secretary and director general of Cefic. “The global plastics pollution agreement is an opportunity to boost a circular economy worldwide by expanding plastic recycling and reuse, while tackling plastic waste pollution by prioritizing solid waste collection for the 2.7 billion people worldwide who still lack access.”

The findings reinforce the need for a global agreement that mobilizes finance, builds capacity, and enables governments to focus resources to tackle plastic waste leakage most effectively in their communities.

Oxford Economics conducted the analysis independently, and the conclusions reflect its views.

The full report and a fact sheet are available here.

International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA)

The International Council of Chemical Associations (ICCA) is an association of innovators, visionaries, solutions providers and product stewardship pioneers. Through ongoing innovation in chemistry and the constant improvement of safe chemicals management, the global chemical industry makes a significant contribution to a sustainable society: improving human health, protecting the environment, and delivering prosperity worldwide.

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SOURCE International Council of Chemical Associations

KYOTO, Japan, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Australian medical technology company Ferronova has announced preliminary findings from the MAGMAP multi-centre trial involving 62 gastric and oesophageal patients evaluating the safety and feasibility of a new nanoparticle-based platform to assist clinicians in identifying lymph nodes draining a primary cancer (sentinel nodes). The findings were presented today by principal investigator Dr Markus Trochsler at the 22^nd ISDE World Congress for Esophageal Diseases held in Kyoto, Japan.

The lead study site was Royal Adelaide Hospital with participating hospitals and research organisations including the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre, Austin Hospital, the Olivia Newton John Cancer Research Institute, Flinders Medical Centre, The Queen Elizabeth Hospital, and the South Australian Health and Medical Research Institute Clinical & Research Imaging Centre.

Key findings

• FerroTrace® was administered to 62 patients with no toxicity related adverse events. 
• In 24 patients considered potentially suitable for a de-escalated surgical approach, 18 had pre-operative chemotherapy (75%). Sentinel nodes were identified in 23 of these patients (identification rate of 96%), no false negatives were observed among the seven node-positive patients evaluated (FNR=0%), and the patient level negative predictive value of sentinel node pathology was 100% (n=16).
• In 26 patients with gastric-oesophageal junction or distal oesophageal cancers 10 were node positive.  The FerroTrace sentinel node drainage direction corresponded to the positive node direction in all 10 patients.  Of 19 patients with Siewert Type I or II cancers, seven had drainage confirmed to the gastric lymphatic basin, highlighting the potential for lymphatic mapping to inform less extensive surgery in selected patients.
• Overall, 68% of patients had at least one identified sentinel lymph node outside the tissue removed using standard of care surgery.

Dr Trochsler said using radioisotopes and dyes for identification of lymph nodes draining a primary tumour is already a standard of care in breast cancer and melanoma and is highly effective. However, efforts to translate this technology to gastric and oesophageal cancer patients, who typically undergo chemotherapy or radiotherapy before surgery, have been unsuccessful to date.

“To our knowledge, this study was the first where a marker was injected prior to pre-surgical chemotherapy or radiotherapy and shown to persist and be detectable at the time of surgery.  The preliminary results are extremely promising.

“The absence of false-negatives and the high negative predictive value observed in this preliminary cohort of patients with earlier-stage disease are encouraging and suggest the potential to minimise surgery in selected patients. Future research will build on these findings by investigating a larger patient cohort. We hope this ongoing work will identify new opportunities to individually tailor treatment approaches.”

Mr Geoff Parnell, GI cancer survivor, patient advocate, and Chair of GI Cancer Trials (Australia), said new developments to improve the patient experience were vital.

“Those with lived experience know the journey of a patient with oesophageal or stomach cancer isn’t pretty,” Mr Parnell said.

“I was lucky to have found the cancer very early and purely by accident, but the surgery and long recovery was tough.

“This new study sponsored by Ferronova will help us investigate approaches that improve quality of life for patients without compromising long-term survival, while ideally also improving overall outcomes. This is particularly important because the outlook for patients with gastric and oesophageal cancers remains relatively poor.”

Ferronova’s CEO Mr Stewart Bartlett and the clinical team will be at the Kyoto conference until Friday 18^th September at booth number 7.

ENDS

BACKGROUND NOTES

Dr Trochsler MD FMH MMIS FRACS leads the Upper Gastrointestinal and Hepatobiliary Surgery Unit at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Adelaide, Australia, is a senior consultant at the Royal Adelaide Hospital, and a senior lecturer in surgery at Adelaide University.  He has authored more than 100 peer-reviewed research publications and contributes to numerous multidiscipline projects in cancer and clinical science.

ABOUT FERRONOVA

Ferronova is an Australian medical technology company headquartered in Adelaide, South Australia. Its mission is to improve treatment options in early stage, complex cancers and increase survival rates with its unique surgical oncology marker system. Shareholders include Renew Pharmaceuticals Limited (subsidiary of UltraGreen.ai), Uniseed/UniSuper, the South Australian Venture Capital Fund (SAVCF), Artesian Venture Partners, the University of South Australia, Powerhouse Ventures, the Victoria University of Wellington in New Zealand, the University of Sydney, PAN Ventures, STOIC Venture Capital, and Perennial Partners Future of Healthcare Fund.  Grant assistance has been provided by the SA Government since 2016 and through the Federal Government’s BioMedTech Horizons Program, operated by MTPConnect and Australian Government CRC-P program. For more information go to: www.ferronova.com.au

PHOTOS AND VIDEO FOOTAGE

Available for download here, please acknowledge source: Photos and Videos

Media Contact: 

Bartlett Stewart
[email protected] 
0403951272

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SOURCE Ferronova

HONG KONG, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ViaBTC, a leading global multi-cryptocurrency mining pool, today announced a partnership with Mempool to expand access to Bitcoin transaction acceleration services. Under the partnership, ViaBTC will use its Bitcoin mining pool infrastructure and expertise in block construction and transaction processing to accelerate eligible transactions, helping more users get their Bitcoin transactions confirmed sooner. 

Bitcoin transactions can remain unconfirmed for extended periods when the network is congested or transaction fees are too low. To help users address these delays, ViaBTC became one of the first providers to launch a Bitcoin transaction accelerator in 2016, offering free and paid options. It has continued to refine the product and its underlying technology ever since. As of September 16, 2026, ViaBTC has accelerated more than 800,000 BTC transactions.

The partnership marks another step in ViaBTC’s efforts to build partnerships across the Bitcoin infrastructure ecosystem. Since its launch in 2016, ViaBTC has navigated multiple market cycles and Bitcoin halvings, building a decade of experience in mining pool operations and technology development. That experience underpins its services for miners worldwide and supports the expansion of offerings such as transaction acceleration. Working with Mempool extends the reach of ViaBTC’s mining pool infrastructure, bringing its technical expertise to more applications across the Bitcoin ecosystem.

Haipo Yang, Founder and CEO of ViaBTC, said that miners’ long-term trust is built on reliable day-to-day operations and sustained investment in technology and service. Whatever the market does, ViaBTC puts the security, stability, and efficiency of its mining pool first. The partnership with Mempool marks another step in expanding the company’s ecosystem collaboration, drawing on years of technical and operational experience. Going forward, ViaBTC will stay focused on what miners need, strengthening its infrastructure to support their long-term growth and the continued operation of the Bitcoin network.

The partnership will not change how users access or use the ViaBTC Transaction Accelerator. Users can continue to submit eligible transaction IDs through the ViaBTC website and mobile app, where they can also view their acceleration history and request status.

ViaBTC will continue to strengthen the security, stability, and efficiency of its mining pool infrastructure while improving its products and services for miners. It will also explore further partnerships with block explorers, wallets, and other Bitcoin infrastructure providers to bring its technology to more applications. Through continued investment in technology and collaboration, ViaBTC aims to serve miners worldwide while providing reliable infrastructure for a broader range of needs across the Bitcoin ecosystem.

About ViaBTC

ViaBTC is a multi-cryptocurrency mining pool serving miners worldwide. Launched in 2016, it specializes in secure, stable, and efficient Proof-of-Work (PoW) mining services, supporting major PoW cryptocurrencies including BTC, LTC/DOGE, BCH, ZEC, and KAS. ViaBTC has served more than 2 million users across over 150 countries and regions. Its BTC, LTC/DOGE merged-mining, BCH, and ZEC pools rank among the world’s leading mining pools.

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SOURCE ViaBTC

MACAU, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Black Lake Technologies Founder and CEO Yuxiang Zhou was invited to attend the Fortune Leaders Forum 2026 in Macau, where he joined the panel “The Leadership Agenda: The Road Ahead” to discuss how AI is reshaping leadership, organizations and industries.

For Zhou, one of the defining questions for leaders in the AI era is no longer simply how to use AI, but how to rethink the relationship between people and AI agents.

At Black Lake, that shift is already taking shape. AI agents are increasingly being used for reasoning, analysis and guidance, while human leaders continue to play a vital role in motivating teams, building trust and creating human connection. Zhou summed up the question this way: “How do you figure out the best ways for leaders and executives to copilot AI?” 

The same transition is also happening on the factory floor.

During the discussion, Zhou looked back on Black Lake’s early days, when the company hired former food couriers as salespeople because they knew China’s industrial towns and small factories well, and understood how to get close to customers on the ground. That frontline approach has shaped Black Lake’s understanding of factory operations and the decisions manufacturers make every day.

Over the past decade, Black Lake has helped factories digitize production processes. Now, as AI becomes more capable, the next step is bringing AI deeper into production decisions.

Zhou noted that manufacturing is moving from standardized, large-batch production toward a more agile model shaped by smaller batches, faster turnaround and rapidly changing demand.

Black Lake is bringing AI agents into areas including order processing, quotation, scheduling, quality management and fulfillment, while also exploring how AI can connect design, engineering, production coordination and manufacturing capacity.

In Zhou’s view, AI’s bigger opportunity lies in changing how industries operate. As he put it, “The real Google moment should happen only when you restructure the industry.”

Founded in 2016, Black Lake Technologies is a leading industrial AI agent platform integrating AI across the full production lifecycle and accelerating the shift from data-driven manufacturing to AI-driven industrial transformation.

To date, Black Lake has empowered nearly 40,000 factories globally, serving customers including Tesla, McDonald’s, Mixue Group, GAC Group and Nongfu Spring. By number of factories served, Black Lake has become a leading technology provider in the Asia-Pacific region and was among the first companies selected for the World Economic Forum’s MINDS program.

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SOURCE Black Lake Technologies

SEOUL, South Korea, Sept. 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Modern warehouse transformation is no longer about standalone equipment, but about building resilient, scalable intralogistics ecosystems. Labour shortages, volatile e-commerce demand, and operational pressures are forcing facilities across South Korea to rethink how they store and move goods. According to SSI Schaefer Korea’s Head of Sales, Jeon Jae Beom, over half of its customers in South Korea are upgrading facilities to meet evolving needs.

To address these challenges, SSI Schaefer Korea is drawing on global intralogistics experience to help Korean manufacturers modernise more effectively.

True modernisation relies on software integration rather than isolated machinery upgrades as disconnected automation can create operational bottlenecks. Increasingly, warehouse modernisation is being approached as a phased journey, allowing operators to improve capacity, automation and software capabilities over time rather than treating transformation as a single large-scale investment.

Reclaim Capacity Through High-Density Storage

With commercial and industrial land prices in South Korea rising continuously, physical expansions are becoming an operational non-starter. Forward-looking facilities are bypassing costly real estate acquisitions by shifting from horizontal storage to vertical density. By pairing vertical lift modules with intelligent inventory management software, operators can recover floor capacity within existing facilities. Precision machine tool manufacturer Hardinge Kellenberger demonstrated this transformation by integrating six LOGIMAT® Vertical Lift Modules and WAMAS Lift & Store, reducing the total logistics area by 35% without structural building modifications.

Orchestrate Automation for End-to-End Flow

Deploying autonomous hardware without central software coordination may lead to fragmented workflows. One approach is to use unified control Warehouse Control Systems (WCS) to synchronise Automated Storage and Retrieval Systems (AS/RS), Autonomous Mobile Robots (AMRs), and conveyor networks into a cohesive flow. At Coca-Cola Amatil’s Brisbane distribution centre, SSI Schaefer integrated high-bay storage, automated case picking, robotics and conveyors under its WAMAS® control system. The facility handles more than 2.5 million cases annually, while Coca-Cola Amatil reports that 50% of manual handling tasks at the site have been automated.

Modernise in Phases to Maintain Uptime

For manufacturers and logistics operators, modernisation cannot always come at the expense of ongoing output. One increasingly common approach is phased brownfield transformation, where new automation is introduced alongside existing infrastructure.

At United Drug’s distribution centre in Dublin, SSI Schaefer expanded and automated the existing facility through a modular implementation carried out in five stages while day-to-day operations continued. The project increased picking capacity from 7,000 to 12,000 order lines per hour while retaining the existing footprint and integrating parts of the existing warehouse.

“Warehouse transformation should not begin with the question of which technology to buy, but with what the operation needs to achieve,” Jeon Jae Beom added. “The most resilient facilities are those designed around long-term capacity, flexibility and visibility, with automation and software working together to support those goals.”

As South Korea’s industrial sector adapts to changing global demand, SSI Schaefer Korea is applying lessons from global projects to help Korean manufacturers and logistics operators identify where automation can create the greatest operational impact and implement transformation progressively.

For more information, visit www.ssi-schaefer.com/ko-kr.

About SSI Schaefer

The SSI Schaefer Group is a leading global solution provider for all areas of intralogistics. With innovative technologies and software, the company empowers small to medium-sized enterprises as well as large companies to increase the efficiency and sustainability of their storage, picking, and transport processes. SSI Schaefer offers complete solutions ranging from fully automated warehouses with tailored service and maintenance packages to robotics and automated guided vehicles as well as manual and semi-automatic systems such as workstations, racks, and containers.

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SOURCE SSI Schaefer Korea

• Consumers increasingly embrace digital cross-border payments, while fraud concerns and stablecoin awareness gaps highlight the importance of trust and education.

SINGAPORE, Sept. 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Visa (NYSE: V), a global leader in digital payments, today released the Asia Pacific findings from its Money Travels: 2026 Digital Remittances Adoption Report, revealing continued growth in digital cross-border money movement across the region. The findings show that remittances continue to play an important role in helping consumers support family members, manage everyday expenses and navigate financial emergencies, while trust, security and transparency are becoming just as important as speed and convenience in shaping payment experiences.

The study, which surveyed more than more than 45,000 remittance senders and receivers across 20 markets, including Australia, Mainland China, India, Japan, the Philippines and Singapore, found growing adoption of digital cross-border payments alongside rising expectations for trusted payment experiences. For the first time, this year’s study also included a dedicated module examining consumer awareness, perceptions and adoption intent towards stablecoins, finding that education and confidence will be key to broader adoption amid growing concerns around scams, fraud and AI-enabled threats. 

“Cross-border money movement is fundamental to how people, businesses and economies connect across Asia Pacific,” said Chavi Jafa, Senior Vice President, Head of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, Asia Pacific, Visa. “Financial institutions have an opportunity to make cross-border payments a more integrated and valuable part of the overall customer experience as consumer expectations continue to evolve, with customers increasingly looking for solutions that combine speed, security, convenience and flexibility. Building trust through education, transparency and security will be critical to the next phase of adoption.” 

Key findings for Asia Pacific

Cross-Border Payments Remain Essential Across Asia Pacific

• Remittance activity varies significantly across the region, with the Philippines (45%) and Australia (35%) reporting the highest proportions of consumers sending money abroad, compared with Japan (8%). Receiving rates are also highest in the Philippines (45%) and lowest in Japan (5%).
• Cross-border payments continue to support everyday financial needs, from household expenses to emergency funding and family support. Paying household bills is a key reason for receiving remittances in the Philippines (47%) and India (34%), while financial emergencies are a leading use case in the Philippines (42%) and India (33%).
• Supporting loved ones can come at a personal cost, with consumers in India (23%) and Mainland China (21%) delaying bill payments, while those in India (20%) and Mainland China (17%) cut back on essentials to provide financial support abroad.

Consumer Expectations Continue to Shift Toward Digital Experiences

• Mobile banking apps remain the preferred way to send money internationally across Asia Pacific, with usage ranging from 33% to 60% across markets.
• Mobile wallet adoption is particularly strong in India (36%), the Philippines (28%) and Mainland China (27%), highlighting growing consumer preference for digital-first money movement experiences.
• Digital adoption continues to vary across markets, with Japan (32%) remaining the regional outlier, where nearly one-third of consumers still prefer making international transfers through physical bank branches.

Security and Fraud Concerns Are Shaping Consumer Behaviour

• Exposure to remittance scams is highest in India (40%) and the Philippines (29%), compared with China (19%) and Japan (11%).
• Concern about AI-enabled fraud is particularly pronounced in the Philippines (62%) and India (53%), where consumers worry that deepfakes could be used to impersonate family members or facilitate financial scams.
• Consumers increasingly prioritise protection over speed, with Japan (68%), Singapore (57%) and Australia (57%) willing to accept a 24-hour transfer delay in exchange for stronger AI-powered fraud protection.

Consumers Are Open to Emerging Payment Innovations, but Education Remains Critical

• Awareness and trust vary widely across the region. Consumer interest in stablecoins increases significantly when respondents better understand that stablecoins are designed to maintain their value and may offer additional benefits.
• Misconceptions remain widespread across Asia Pacific, with roughly half of consumers believing stablecoins are as risky as or riskier than cryptocurrencies despite being designed to maintain a stable value.

“The findings underscore how diverse payment behaviours, preferences and levels of digital adoption continue to accelerate across Asia Pacific,” said Rhidoi Krishnakumar, Vice President, Head of Visa Direct, Asia Pacific, Visa. “For banks, remitters and fintechs, the opportunity lies in delivering seamless cross-border experiences while managing growing complexity on behalf of clients. Through Visa Direct, we work with partners across the region to help simplify this complexity and enable money movement experiences that are more seamless, scalable and locally relevant to how consumers and businesses move money today.”

The findings highlight how cross-border money movement continues to evolve across Asia Pacific, shaped by growing digital adoption, changing consumer expectations, emerging payment innovations and rising demands for security and trust. For banks, remitters and fintechs, understanding how these trends are reshaping consumer behaviour will be increasingly important in delivering relevant, trusted and future-ready money movement experiences.

To learn more about the trends shaping cross-border money movement across Asia Pacific, explore the Money Travels 2026 findings here.

Note on Methodology

Findings are based on self-reported consumer survey responses. Respondents received definitions of key terms, including stablecoins, before answering. Survey scenarios involving “bank-equivalent protections” or similar concepts are hypothetical. Stablecoins are not currently covered by deposit insurance (e.g., FDIC, CDIC). Findings reflect consumer awareness, attitudes, and stated intent only – not commentary on legal status or operational availability. This report is for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial or legal advice.

About the Study

Money Travels 2026 was conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of Visa between 24 February and 2 March 2026. The findings form part of Visa’s global Money Travels 2026 study, which surveyed more than 45,000 remittance senders and receivers across 20 markets to examine remittance behaviours, attitudes and emerging trends in cross-border money movement. The Asia Pacific findings cover Australia, Mainland China, India, Japan, the Philippines and Singapore.

About Visa

Visa (NYSE: V) is a world leader in digital payments, facilitating transactions between consumers, sellers, financial institutions and government entities across more than 200 countries and territories. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, convenient, reliable and secure payments network, enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. We believe that economies that include everyone everywhere, uplift everyone everywhere and see access as foundational to the future of money movement. Learn more at Visa.com.

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SOURCE Visa Worldwide Pte. Limited