Forest Lin, Corporate Vice President and Head of Tencent Financial Technology, Tencent, speaking at the panel ‘Building an Intelligent Financial Stack’
At the Singapore FinTech Festival (SFF) 2025, Tencent unveiled its unified vision for how interoperable payments, intelligent digital services and technologies, and cloud-powered AI solutions can come together to simplify and secure the way people and businesses interact across borders.
Tencent’s return to the event this year illustrated how its technologies operate as a cohesive ecosystem; one designed to make digital finance more intuitive, more inclusive, and more deeply connected. Its media technologies also powered the real-time livestream of SFF, enabling people across the world to watch any of SFF’s six main stages virtually with low latency and smooth playback.
Across discussions, exhibitions, and partnerships, Tencent showcased how its work in global payments and financial technology has evolved from enabling transactions to building seamless everyday experiences. Leaders from Tencent Financial Technology, Weixin, and Tencent Cloud shared perspectives on the growing convergence of interoperable infrastructure and how this convergence is reshaping expectations in global digital finance.
“Every day, we’re looking for use cases that could improve our users’ lives,” said Forest Lin, Corporate Vice President of Tencent and Head of Tencent Financial Technology, at the festival’s premier keynote panel “Building an Intelligent Financial Stack.”
He discussed how Tencent’s technology helps small merchants with AI-based tools for menu scanning and QR code ordering, improving efficiency, and Tencent’s approach to fraud prevention, highlighting use of multiple machine learning models to achieve exceptionally low fraud on Weixin Pay. Lin also highlighted Tencent’s proactive stance in the ongoing technological arms race against fraudsters, such as developing a “world model” for payment systems.
Tencent booth at Singapore FinTech Festival 2025.
The SFF’s 10th Anniversary edition of the Tencent booth allowed visitors to experience how this principle took shape in reality with on-site demonstrations. This includes showcases for Tencent Palm, Weixin Pay, TenPay Global, and Weixin Mini Program Ecosystem integration with local businesses.
Speaking in the panel on “Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies for Achieving Payments Interoperability”, Daniel Hong, Vice President of Tencent Financial Technology, shared his perspective on interoperability and Tencent’s approach of being collaborative, user-focused, and committed to creating value across different payment ecosystems.
“AI can improve current interoperability, acting as a translator and bridge between different systems; however, it may also create new fragmentation problems and challenges, which deserve advance consideration from all parties,” he said, hoping that the industry can build upon past experience to achieve interoperability-by-design and interoperability-by-default in the field of AI payments.
Daniel Hong, Vice President of Tencent Financial Technology, speaking at the “Challenges, Opportunities, and Strategies for Achieving Payments Interoperability” panel
These capabilities were further reinforced through various initiatives announced at the festival:
- TenPay Global’s participation in China’s Cross-Border Interconnection Payment Gateway (CPG) with Weixin Pay, which now collaborates with over 40 wallets in more than 10 countries and regions, and has formed strategic partnerships with DBS Bank, GrabPay, ShopeePay, Starryblu, Bank of China, and EVONET GLOBAL in Singapore;
- TenPay Global Checkout, a new payment solution for Weixin Mini Program merchants operating in global markets to accept a wide range of local payment methods with ease, including digital wallets, local real-time payment networks, and credit and debit cards; and
- The partnership with Western Union, led by the debut of a co-branded flagship store in Singapore’s Chinatown, which aims to enable omni-channel remittance experiences and efficiency through Mini Programs within the Weixin ecosystem.
Visitors experiencing the Tencent Palm demonstration at Tencent’s booth.
The booth showcase debuted its latest O4 recognition module and PCI-certified PalmDa POS terminal from Tencent Palm, allowing visitors to experience the technology across use-cases like payments, registration, and accessibility. The solution is now operational in Singapore at high-frequency locations such as Resorts World Sentosa’s Adventure Cove and, most recently, the Singapore Institute of Technology’s campuses in partnership with CATES.
Visitors also had the opportunity to discover China through its iconic sites and cuisines, an experience powered by Weixin Pay and TenPay Global, either by linking their cards with Weixin Pay or using their home wallets directly in the mainland of China. Expanding on Weixin’s ecosystem, through new integrations with Singapore’s SGQR+, Malaysia’s DuitNow QR, and Thailand’s PromptPay, local merchants are now also able to accept payments from Chinese travellers directly, enjoying broader reach and simplified payment operations.
Etienne Ng, Country Manager, Singapore & Regional Director, Southeast Asia, Weixin Pay, Tencent, at his presentation on ‘Transformational Tech in Finance – Powered by Tencent’, shared, “Tencent’s Palm Solutions show how innovation can make payments faster, safer, and more intuitive. We’re excited to bring Tencent’s next-generation technologies to Singapore to enhance everyday transactions for both users and merchants alike.”
Powell Li, Vice President and Head of Tencent Cloud Computing Products, Tencent Cloud speaking at the panel “China: Scaling AI Across FinTech and Embedded Finance.”
Deepening Tencent’s tech expertise and presence at SFF through AI thought leadership, Powell Li, Vice President and Head of Tencent Cloud Computing Products, Tencent Cloud, spoke on a panel exploring how China’s ecosystem-led AI model, powered by super-app platforms and cross-border financial networks, is reshaping financial services and offering new insights into AI-driven financial infrastructure.
“Scaling AI in financial services demands a strong ecosystem and robust infrastructure. At Tencent Cloud, we are focused on helping partners across the region harness AI safely and effectively, ensuring they can build agile, intelligent, and resilient systems that put their end users first,” said Li.
Across payments, Mini Programs, and cloud AI, Tencent’s participation at SFF 2025 underscored a single goal: to showcase how trusted, interoperable technologies are essential to unlocking a more connected digital economy. By combining these innovations, Tencent is working toward a future where cross-border digital finance feels simple, intuitive, and accessible to all.