Japan finance firms add AI translation and QR payments

PayPay has added UnionPay QR payments across participating Japanese merchants while SMBC has begun deploying an OpenAI-powered interpreter to bank employees. Summary PayPay added UnionPay QR payments through HIVEX at participating merchants across Japan on September 3. UnionPay App users can register cards issued in mainland China, Hong Kong and Macau directly. PayPay says its network now supports 36 overseas payment services spanning 17 markets for visitors. SMBC-Interpreter uses OpenAI’s GPT-Live-1 to return live voice translations alongside synchronized onscreen text for employees. SMBC says customer audio and translated output are neither stored nor used for model training. PayPay said in a Sept. 3 release that UnionPay App users can now pay through its merchant network using the HIVEX payment platform. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation announced its separate SMBC-Interpreter rollout on Sept. 11. The two companies have not announced a partnership between the products. PayPay’s expansion concerns payments made by overseas visitors, while SMBC’s application handles spoken communication between bank employees and customers. Japanese Financial Sector Enhances Cross-Border Service...