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Tag: instant

  • India To Implement Facial Recognition, Fingerprint Verification For Upi Transactions From October 8

    India To Implement Facial Recognition, Fingerprint Verification For Upi Transactions From October 8

    Starting October 8, India will incorporate facial recognition and fingerprint verification as methods for approving transactions carried out through the nationally renowned Unified Payments Interface (UPI), according to insiders with direct knowledge of the situation.

    The authentication process will employ biometric data stored within Aadhar, the Indian Government’s singular identification system, an anonymous source disclosed.

    This initiative comes after the Reserve Bank of India issued new guidelines allowing for alternative means of authentication. This marks a significant shift from the existing system, which necessitates a numeric PIN for transaction verification.

    The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), the entity responsible for operating UPI, intends to unveil this novel biometric attribute at the ongoing Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai, stated the sources who requested anonymity due to not being permitted to speak to the press.

    The NPCI has not responded immediately to requests for comment.

    Questions & Answers

    When will the new biometric features for payment approval through the UPI be introduced in India?
    The new features for payment approval which include facial recognition and fingerprint verification will be introduced starting October 8.

    What is the current system for approving transactions carried out through the UPI?
    The existing system of approving transactions carried out through the UPI requires a numeric PIN for transaction verification.

    Who operates the UPI and who intends to showcase the new biometric feature?
    The UPI is operated by the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which plans to debut this novel biometric feature at the ongoing Global Fintech Festival in Mumbai.

  • APAC Instant Payments Expected to Surge to $170.2B by 2029, Says GlobalData

    APAC Instant Payments Expected to Surge to $170.2B by 2029, Says GlobalData

    It’s becoming clear that Asia is leading the charge in the world of instant payments. According to estimates by GlobalData, the instant payments market across 14 Asia Pacific countries is set to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.6% between 2025 and 2029, reaching a staggering valuation of $170.2 billion.

    Rapid Growth Driven by the Digital Shift

    This remarkable growth is fueled by several interlinked factors, including a consumer preference for electronic payment methods, advancements in payment infrastructure, and a growing financially aware population. Ravi Sharma, the lead banking and payments analyst at GlobalData, notes that countries like China, Japan, South Korea, and India have already established strong footholds in the instant payments market.

    China’s Dominance in the Market

    Leading the pack is China, which is projected to see its instant payments market value soar to $81.9 trillion by 2029. South Korea and Japan are expected to follow, with instant payments valued at $35.8 trillion and $31.5 trillion, respectively. Meanwhile, India, although trailing behind in terms of market value at $7.5 trillion, astonishingly leads in transaction volume. The nation is set to record a remarkable 191.5 billion instant payment transactions by 2024, primarily propelled by the impressive growth of its Unified Payments Interface (UPI), the national payment framework that has revolutionized digital transactions.

    Opportunities on the Horizon

    The surge in cross-border payment linkages is unlocking new business opportunities across the region. Sharma emphasizes that the future looks bright for the instant payments landscape in Asia Pacific. “As government initiatives continue to evolve, payment infrastructures improve, and QR code-based payments become more favored over traditional POS systems, consumer inclination towards electronic payments is expected to solidify,” he states.

    In this dynamic financial environment, it’s not just a race to digitize; it’s also a friendly competition of who can innovate faster. As consumers become increasingly tech-savvy, retail businesses must stay ahead of the curve to capture the evolving marketplace.

    Questions & Answers

    What is driving the growth of instant payments in Asia?
    The growth is primarily driven by increased consumer preference for electronic payments, enhanced payment infrastructure, and a more financially aware population.

    Which country is projected to have the highest value in instant payments?
    China is expected to lead the region, with its instant payments market projected to reach $81.9 trillion by 2029.

    How does India fare in the instant payments space?
    While India trails behind in market value at $7.5 trillion, it surpasses all other countries in transaction volume, with anticipated instant payment transactions reaching 191.5 billion by 2024.

  • Alibaba Challenges Meituan In Local-lifestyle Domain With Amap’s Ai-powered ‘street Stars’ Feature

    Alibaba Challenges Meituan In Local-lifestyle Domain With Amap’s Ai-powered ‘street Stars’ Feature

    Alibaba’s navigational application, Amap, is diversifying its functionality beyond its primary aim of providing directional services. It is venturing into the local-lifestyle domain, a territory traditionally occupied by competitor Meituan. This move is marked by the introduction of its own classification system for restaurants, hotels, and tourist attractions.

    Competing for Market Share in “Instant Retail”

    Alibaba and Meituan are well-established tech enterprises in China. Currently, they are deeply engaged in an intense rivalry for dominance in the “instant retail” sector. This field is characterized by immediate delivery services and has seen a rapid influx of consumers due to the provision of extensive discounts and coupons.

    The competitive landscape of this sector has led to increased attention from regulatory bodies, who are concerned about a potential harmful price spiral. In the Chinese context, sluggish property rates and unstable employment conditions have contributed to a consistent dip in consumer confidence. This has pressured corporations to adopt aggressive pricing strategies and provide subsidies to stimulate consumer spending.

    “Street Stars”: Amap’s New Feature

    Amap announced a new feature named “Street Stars” on Wednesday. This feature, powered by advanced artificial intelligence algorithms, aims to rank destinations for its 170 million daily active users. To promote this new feature, Amap is offering subsidies amounting to 1 billion yuan (approximately US$140.43 million). These subsidies are intended to provide users with coupons for ride-hailing or in-store services. The initial launch phase is expected to encompass 300 cities, and will include around 1.6 million local business listings.

    In China, consumers have historically depended on applications such as Meituan’s Dazhong Dianping for restaurant suggestions, reservations, and other services. Meituan recently announced that it would distribute 25 million consumption coupons as part of an overhaul of Dianping’s takeaway service from highly-rated restaurants.

    During a recent after-earnings discussion with analysts, Alibaba Group CEO Eddie Wu highlighted Amap’s AI-driven transformation. He emphasized the strategic importance of the app’s new direction, positioning it as a “new gateway for future lifestyle services”. This is part of Alibaba’s broader plan to design what it refers to as a “comprehensive consumption platform”.

    Regulatory Challenges

    However, concerns exist regarding the potential interference of Chinese regulators in these plans. E-commerce and food delivery giants in China have already been summoned by authorities for several meetings. The ongoing price war, which contradicts the government’s official stance against cutthroat competition, is a particularly contentious issue.

    Questions & Answers

    What is Alibaba’s Amap diversifying into?
    Amap is venturing into the local-lifestyle domain, traditionally occupied by its competitor Meituan. It plans to introduce its own classification system for restaurants, hotels, and tourist attractions.

    What is “Street Stars”?
    “Street Stars” is a new feature of Amap powered by advanced artificial intelligence algorithms. It aims to rank destinations for its 170 million daily active users.

    What are regulators’ concerns about the “instant retail” sector?
    Regulators are concerned about a potentially harmful price spiral in the sector. This is driven by aggressive pricing strategies and subsidies offered by companies to stimulate consumer spending, especially in the context of sluggish property rates and unstable employment conditions in China.

  • Suimin is turning up the heat in the instant noodle category with K-Pow

    Suimin is turning up the heat in the instant noodle category with K-Pow

    Research reveals a growing preference for spicy foods among Australians and New Zealanders. In response to this trend, Suimin, a popular convenience food brand, has unveiled a new range of super spicy, Korean-style instant noodle bowls. The products, which fall under the brand name K-Pow!, are set to cater to this increasing demand for heat-infused foods.

    Spice and Heat: Key Market Trends

    Hugh McIntosh, the Marketing Manager at Suimin, states that the company’s market research in Australia and New Zealand supports the idea of spice and heat as emerging, high-growth trends. He remarks that the consumer inclination towards extra spicy noodles, a trend previously predominant in parts of Asia, has now firmly rooted itself in the Australian market.

    Moreover, the popularity of Korean cuisine has fueled the creation of this new locally adapted, spice-driven instant noodle range. Suimin will initially launch this product in Australia, with plans to expand to New Zealand in the near future.

    Targeting a Broad Audience

    Designed to appeal to a wide demographic, K-Pow! is especially aimed at younger customers seeking novel and intriguing flavors in their meals. According to McIntosh, the new range aligns with Suimin’s long-standing reputation of providing convenient access to Asian-inspired dishes.

    Despite a highly competitive instant noodle market, McIntosh is confident that the K-Pow! range will make its mark. The unique blend of chicken and beef broth bases with traditional Korean flavors ensures a distinctive taste.

    Appeal of the K-Wave

    The increasing popularity of Korean culture, known as the K-Wave, has been instrumental in Suimin’s decision to release a Korean-inspired range. The K-Wave, which began with the hit song “Gangnam Style” in 2012, has since expanded to include K-Pop and K-Drama, making Korean culture increasingly appealing worldwide.

    McIntosh cites recent survey data indicating that 37% of Australian respondents have consumed Korean food in the past three months, with an additional 41% expressing interest despite not having tried the cuisine recently.

    The K-Pow! Range

    The K-Pow! range is not solely targeted at fans of Korean culture. Younger shoppers, in particular, are purchasing spicy noodles at a significantly higher rate than other households, making them a key demographic for Suimin.

    The K-Pow! range comprises three flavors: Flaming Cheesy Chicken, Flaming Chicken, and Flaming Beef. Each 105gm bowl is priced at $4 and is available at Coles, Woolworths, and independent retailers nationwide.

    In order to promote the launch, Suimin plans to collaborate with influencers to generate brand awareness and encourage product trials. McIntosh reveals plans to engage with numerous influencers, including two with over 100,000 followers, to create engaging content on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

    Questions & Answers

    What is the K-Pow! range?
    The K-Pow! range is a new line of super spicy, Korean-style instant noodle bowls from Suimin.

    Who is the target audience for the K-Pow! range?
    While the K-Pow! range aims to appeal to a broad demographic, it specifically targets younger consumers who are seeking unique and exciting flavors.

    How will Suimin promote the K-Pow! range?
    Suimin plans to partner with influencers to generate awareness for the new range and to encourage consumers to trial the product. The promotion will involve creating engaging content on social media platforms like TikTok and Instagram.

  • Nissin joins up with Final Fantasy XV for awesome “Cup Noodle XV” promotion

    Nissin joins up with Final Fantasy XV for awesome “Cup Noodle XV” promotion

    Put together by the XV development team, this is being billed by its producers as the first-ever official mashup TV commercial in the history of Final Fantasy.

    It was just a few days ago that we heard news of a possible collaboration between Final Fantasy XV and Nissin, the maker of Cup Noodles. After the developers of XV, Square Enix, received a delivery of ramen to congratulate their hard-working team on the game’s release, they responded by promising to return the favour with a special collaborative commercial. We didn’t have to wait long to find out what type of ad they had in mind, because the “CUP NOODLE XV” PR team have now revealed all the details of the collaboration, with the arrival of the special commercial below.

    The first half of the clip, endorsed with the Square Enix logo, shows the current ad for the game, while the second half, which opens with the noodle maker’s name, Nissin Shokuhin, shows Cup Noodles “bringing chaos” to the ad, which features some of the game’s famous scenes. In this part of the video, characters like Ardyn and Luna are pictured holding the well-known instant snack.

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    Regis can now be seen telling an oversized cup of noodles to stand tall.

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    While Noctis is surrounded by forks with the noodles on his head.

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    In a particularly dramatic moment, our heroes defend Cup Noodles against the flames.

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    Could the mystery meat in Cup Noodles actually be made from Leviathan?

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    To coincide with the release of the new commercial, Nissin will be offering a box of 15 different Cup Noodle varieties to 150 lucky customers who enter a competition on the newly created Cup Noodle XV website.

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    While the noodles don’t appear with any special limited-edition packaging, unfortunately, the 15 “characters” to be won still look delicious.

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    Nissin and Square Enix enjoy a close relationship both professionally and geographically, given that the two companies are located a short four-minute walk from each other in Tokyo’s Shinjuku neighbourhood. This new collaboration is actually said to have been created out of their “neighbourly friendship” for each other.

    What started as an in-game collaboration featuring Cup Noodles looks set to grow even stronger now, given this latest promotion. The campaign website even reveals that another 30-second “Special Edition” commercial will be arriving soon, so there’s still more to look forward to from these two iconic Japanese companies!

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  • Instant noodles sales slumps in China

    Instant noodles sales slumps in China

    Instant noodles, once an easy meal for millions of Chinese workers, is getting less popular. Workers scrapping instant noodles are seen as a symbol of the chaining lifestyle of the working class. The sales of instant noodles fell 12.5 percent last year. The King of noodles in China, Taiwanese Tingyi, known for its brand Master Kong (Kong Shifu), was evicted from the Hang Seng Index on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong in September. Its profits declined by 60 percent last year. According to Bloomberg, this is a classic example of the economic and demographic transition in China.

    Between 2003 and 2008, the instant noodle market has exploded in China, from $ 35 billion to 59 billion yuan ($ 4.7 billion to EUR 7.9 billion). At the time, Chinese growth exceeded 10% of the average (14.2% in 2007). The industry flourished with the boom of construction, heavy industry, and the low-end factories, which needed cheap labor. The coast provinces attracted millions of migrant workers, who relied on these convenient meals.

    Unfortunately for the noodle industry, China has developed. Today, the 25 cents noodle is less exciting. Because of the policy of one-child, the Chinese population of working age began to decline in 2010. And by 2015, for the first time in 30 years, the population of migrants has declined, after having exceeded 250 million.

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  • Indofood commissions instant noodle factory in Serbia

    Indofood commissions instant noodle factory in Serbia

    PT. Indofood Sukses Makmur, the largest instant noodle producer in Southeast Asia has expanded operation to Europe setting into operation its factory in Serbia.

    Serbian President Tomislav Nikolic officially commissioned the factory in Indjija, around 80 kilometers from Beograd on Friday, the Indonesian embassy in the Serbian capital city said.

    The factory, which produces ready for consumption Indomie noodles, was already operational in August opening hundreds of jobs for the Serbians .

    Construction of the factory in Serbia, would be the first step of the company in market expansion in Europe, an embassy official said.

    The factory, occupying a five hectare plot of lands was built with an investment of 11 million euro. It has a production capacity of 500,000 carton boxes per month for distribution not only in Serbia but also to other countries Europe.

    Free trade adopted by Serbia with various other countries in Europe would facilitate the company in market expansion giving it greater optimism in its ambition to dominate the European market of instant noodle.

    The official commissioning ceremony was attended by other Serbian leaders, members of the diplomatic Corps , business leaders and local journalists.

    Support shown by the Serbian government is a big factor in the success of the Indofood investment in that country.

    President Tomislav Nikolic said he appreciated and supported the Indonesian investment in Serbia as a concrete step to expand economic cooperation between the two countries.

    Indonesian Ambassador Harry R.J. Kandou said the presence of Indofood in Serbia constituted a concrete proof of Indonesian initiative in strengthening economic cooperation between the two countries.

    Anthony Salim, the Executive Director of the Salim Group, which owns Indofood, said he hoped that factory would provide gateway for the Indofood to reach the rest of Europe.

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  • Lampung exports of instant coffee growing

    Lampung exports of instant coffee growing

    Lampung has recorded growing exports of instant coffee reaching 63.2 tons in November, 2015.

    “Exports of instant coffee has continued from month to month,” head of the provincial trade office Ferynia said here on Saturday without saying exports in the previous months.

    Lampung is a big producer of robusta coffee.

    Instant coffee from Lampung has been exported to various countries such as Vietnam, which is the worlds largest producer of robusta coffee, and Singapore.

    Exports, however, are small in comparison with domestic consumption.

    The export prospects are still encouraging, Ferynia said, adding, Lampung is aggressive in launching export promotion in a number of other countries by holding exhibitions.

    He said Lampung has managed to maintain strong foothold for its instant coffee in export markets.

    “Demand is still high and the price is good for Lampung product of instant coffee in international markets,” he said.

    The production center for instant coffee in Lampung is Bandarlampung, which has a production capacity of around 8,000 tons of the commodity per year.

    “Sales of instant coffee in the country average 50 to 100 tons per months,” Ferynia said.

    Lampung has 163,837 hectares of coffee plantations with production averaging 140,000 tons of coffee beans per year.

    Indonesia is the fourth largest coffee producer in the world and the second largest in robusta coffee production.

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