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Money20/20 Asia: EBANX expands recurring alternative payments offering, unlocks a 1 billion user potential across 12 emerging markets

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Consumers without credit or debit cards will be able to access subscription-based digital services like streaming, software, and gaming platforms globally

SINGAPORE and CURITIBA, Brazil, April 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Today, EBANX—a global payment technology company connecting merchants with consumers and businesses in emerging markets—announces the expansion of its offering for recurring alternative payment methods (APMs) to six more countries across Southeast Asia, Africa and Latin America: the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, South Africa, Colombia, and Peru.

The announcement takes place during Money20/20 Asia in Bangkok, Thailand, and follows EBANX’s recent expansion announcement, which brings its payments operations into Indonesia, Thailand, Turkey, Malaysia, and Vietnam, with the latter two scheduled to go live in Q3. These operations will be fully supported by EBANX’s APAC HQ in Singapore.

The integration of these new recurring capabilities adds to EBANX’s current offering of recurring APMs in India, Brazil, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay. Via EBANX, global merchants of subscription-based services such as streaming, software, and gaming platforms will be able to reach more than 1 billion people* who use these APMs across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, per data from APMs’ operators and Statista.

This reach becomes even more impressive considering that over 1.3 billion adults lack access to credit or debit cards across these markets, according to the World Bank.

“Consumers without access to credit or debit cards rely heavily on APMs to pay for subscription-based e-commerce services,” said Eduardo de Abreu, Global Chief Product Officer (CPO) at EBANX and Regional CEO of EBANX Singapore. “If a SaaS or streaming company does not offer local, alternative solutions for these consumers, they simply won’t access them.”

EBANX’s launches include recurring capabilities for digital wallets in Southeast Asia, such as Maya and GCash in the Philippines, OVO and DANA in Indonesia, and TrueMoney in Thailand. The roll-outs will be available to merchants in Q2, Q3, and Q4 this year.

Across Asia, EBANX also enables recurring transactions through UPI AutoPay, built on top of India’s leading instant payment infrastructure, UPI. Through EBANX, the system’s feature is already proving its value: a global AI merchant that implemented UPI AutoPay acquired more than 4,000 new customers per day during the first three months.

In South Africa, Capitec Pay Recurring—the new recurring feature of the account-to-account (A2A) solution Capitec Pay—will be available for cross-border transactions through EBANX’s integration. EBANX was the first global Payment Service Provider (PSP) to offer Capitec Bank’s A2A solution in a cross-border model. The new Capitec Pay feature enables global merchants to collect recurring payments directly from Capitec Bank accounts through an A2A, non-card payment flow.

New subscriptions in Latin America

In Latin America, Pix, Brazil’s instant payment method, introduced Pix Automático, its recurring feature, in June last year. EBANX integrated it from day one and has already demonstrated its potential to grow merchants’ consumer base and ultimately increase sales: 56% of customers using Pix Automático to buy from EBANX’s merchants are new users.

NuPay has also shown strong results for subscription-based platforms that use EBANX: a global SaaS provider offering the digital wallet’s recurring feature via EBANX saw a 13% increase in paid subscriptions compared to credit cards, a 17% rise in free-trial sign-ups, and a 76% payment success rate.

With today’s launch, EBANX is also enabling two additional APMs in Latin America for cross-border transactions: the mobile payment platform Nequi in Colombia and the digital wallet Yape in Peru. These solutions complement existing recurring payment options integrated by EBANX in the region, such as Mercado Pago in Mexico, Chile, Uruguay, Argentina, and Brazil, besides Pix Automático and NuPay in Brazil.

Less friction, more revenue

“For years, low card penetration in emerging markets forced subscription merchants to rely on one-off payment workarounds that were never built to support long-term customer relationships,” commented Abreu. “Over time, these approaches eroded retention because every renewal required the customer to pay again, manually.”

Recurring APMs address that friction through a consent-based enrollment model. Originally shaped by local payment challenges, APMs in emerging economies are evolving to deliver an increasingly card-like experience for end users. Once the customer provides prior authorization, merchants can automatically initiate recurring billing, reducing the need for manual action at each renewal and enabling a more seamless subscription experience on local payment rails.

EBANX at Money20/20 Asia

At Money20/20 Asia, taking place in Bangkok, Thailand, from April 21st to 23rd, 2026, EBANX is speaking in two key sessions.

In the panel Ecosystem Readiness: Turning Isolated Progress into Coordinated Scale, Eduardo de Abreu joins other industry leaders from Nium, Boku, and Bitpace to discuss how fragmented advancements across regulation, infrastructure, and market demand can be aligned to drive scalable ecosystem growth.

In the session Innovation Without Borders, Vladimira Artopé, Regional Director for Southeast Asia at EBANX, contributes to a discussion on the transformative impact of fintech and education solutions for underserved women in Asia, particularly in maternal and financial health. The panel highlights how technology can support greater financial inclusion in resource-constrained environments.

*1,020 billion people use APMs across the following 12 emerging markets, based on data from the operators of the most used APMs in each country and Statista: Brazil (Pix), India (UPI), South Africa (Capitec Pay), Colombia (Nequi), Peru (Yape), the Philippines (GCash), Indonesia (DANA), Malaysia (TrueMoney), Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Uruguay (Mercado Pago).

ABOUT EBANX
EBANX is the leading technology platform connecting global businesses to the world’s fastest-growing digital markets. Founded in 2012 in Brazil, EBANX was built with a mission to expand access to international digital commerce. Leveraging proprietary technology, deep market expertise, and robust infrastructure, the platform enables global businesses to offer hundreds of local payment methods and streamline cross-border payments across Latin America, Africa, and Asia. With a global footprint, it established a technology and regulatory headquarters in Singapore in 2026. More than just payments, EBANX drives growth, enhances sales, and delivers seamless purchase experiences for businesses and end users alike.

For further information, please visit:
Website: https://www.ebanx.com/en/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/ebanx

Media Contact:
Shan Huang
shan.huang@ahgstrategies.com

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SOURCE EBANX

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Karma Automotive Announces Eximius, the Bespoke Vehicle Program for Elite Clients Seeking Singular Expressions of Extreme Performance and Bold Craftsmanship

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The First Eximius Creation, “Eximius 1,” is a Menacing Four-Seater Built for the Track which Makes its World Premiere at the 2026 Concours at Wynn Las Vegas

LAS VEGAS, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Karma Automotive builds vehicles in the hundreds rather than the thousands, attracting a highly individualistic clientele seeking a unique statement. For those who wish to go further still, and explore new possibilities beyond the extensive options for personalization available through the Studio program, Karma has created the Eximius bespoke vehicle program. Eximius clients may modify the vehicle’s body, performance and powertrain, collaborating with Karma’s design and engineering teams to build a One-of-One statement which will never be repeated.

Karma Eximius clients may modify the vehicle’s body, performance and powertrain to build a One-of-One statement

The first vehicle from Karma Eximius debuts today at the 2026 Concours at Wynn Las Vegas. A menacing four-seater purpose-built for the track, “Eximius 1” is in ongoing development with its commissioning client, who is not revealed at this time. Upon delivery in 2027, “Eximius 1” will be fitted with an extreme-performance Plug-in Series Hybrid utilizing a 6.2 Liter V8 producing nearly 1200hp (550hp ICE, 645hp battery), delivering acceleration from 0-60mph in 2.7 seconds and a top speed in excess of 200mph (estimated). As these parameters would demand, “Eximius 1” will be equipped with carbon-ceramic brakes and two-piece slotted brake rotors, and Ohlins semi-active suspension.

“‘Eximius 1’ began as a conversation with an elite client who loves their Karma Revero, but wanted something more extreme and unexpected, which was music to our ears,” says Marques McCammon, President and Chief Executive, Karma Automotive. “The Eximius program effectively deletes the word ‘no’ from conversations about what’s possible,” he continues, “and as a four-seat track weapon packing what’ll be the most powerful Plug-in Series Hybrid powertrain and vehicle ever developed, ‘Eximius 1’ shatters expectations and further establishes Karma as a manufacturer of exotic, uniquely American vehicles.” 

Exterior Design
“Eximius 1” is an imposing vehicle to behold, exhibiting the muscularity and eyepopping strength of a superhero. Every panel – excluding the body surface outer – is constructed of pre-impregnated carbon fiber, and the vehicle is 50mm wider due to its wheel arch extensions. The front doors and hood have a unique technical fade from glossy, exposed regular carbon fiber to signature Borealis Blue paint.

The front carbon splitter sets an aggressive tone and is flanked by massive side air intakes incorporating Karma’s Target Acquisition Lighting, rotated 45º to create a distinctive ‘><‘ DRL graphic identity. On the hood, the dramatic arc of the Comet Line – which is inspired by Halley’s Comet is it streaks across the evening sky – widens from its apex towards the base of the windshield; vents above the front fenders release air pressure from the wheel housings and add further visual intrigue. Moving to the side of the vehicle, the front fenders aft of the wheels feature Karma’s signature “Backslash” bearing the number “5,” which is of particular significance to the commissioning client. 21″ Magnesium wheels with center-locks reduce rotating and unsprung mass, and are finished in satin black. Aft of the driver’s side front wheel, twin exhaust tips announce the fearsome new powertrain.

The full-width rear GT wing maximizes stability and downforce at high speeds, and continues the distinctive ‘><‘ DRL graphic identity established at the front of “Eximius 1.” The rear fascia also boasts large side air intakes which are connected by a dominant diffuser to manage underbody airflow.

Interior Design
An aura of intensity continues to the interior of “Eximius 1.” In concert with the exterior, blue-tinted carbon-fiber adorns the seats, flat-bottom steering wheel and doors; for aesthetics and weight-savings, all four doors are manufactured in exposed carbon fiber with one purposeful arm pad on each door. The seats, which are Recaro carbon fiber buckets up front, are trimmed with blue Alcantara and blue Italian leather with Moondust Alcantara upper sections, creating an articulated, form-fitted feel. To support high-speed driving and intense braking force, the accelerator, brake pedal and dead pedal are billet machined aluminum.

The instrument panel is reimagined in glossy carbon fiber and incorporates anodized billet aluminum HVAC vents. The carbon fiber center console is simplified to include the essentials only: the PRND gear selector, window switches, key fob holder, and Emergency kill switch. This console extends through to the rear compartment, to which the client’s custom-fitted carbon fiber racing helmet is held in place by a center-latched strap matching the blue seat belts.

About Karma Automotive
Karma Automotive is America’s only full-line ultra-luxury vehicle manufacturer, and a pioneer of Plug-in Series Hybrid vehicles which it manufactures at its Karma Innovation and Customization Center (KICC) in Moreno Valley, CA. Its Executive, Product Development, and Design headquarters are located in nearby Irvine, CA. The Karma portfolio embodies California’s spirit of innovation and entrepreneurial boldness, reflected by the signature Comet Line which is the central hallmark of Karma’s new design language. The Gyesera Grand Coupe, a Plug-in Series Hybrid four-seater, arrives at dealerships in December 2026; and the Amaris GT 2-Door Plug-in Series Hybrid arrives in Q4 2027. The Karma Kaveya Super Coupe, with over 1,000HP and butterfly-doors, will arrive in Q1 2028, to be followed by the Karma Ivara GT-UV: both EVs will incorporate SDVA (Software-Defined Vehicle Architecture) developed with leading technology partners. For more information, visit www.karmaautomotive.com) 

Media Contact:

Joe Richardson, (917) 716-6617
Joe@BeautifulNoisePR.com 

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SOURCE Karma Automotive

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ModelBest and OpenBMB Open-Source MiniCPM-OCR Series, Delivering High-Performance Document Parsing and AI-Powered Quality Control

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BEIJING, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — ModelBest and OpenBMB jointly announced the release and open-source availability of the MiniCPM-OCR series, a family of models for efficient document parsing and parsing-quality assessment. The launch includes two models: MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 (1.3B) and MiniCPM-OCR Jev (2B).

As the first OCR-focused model in the MiniCPM family, MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 brings top-tier parsing accuracy to a compact 1.3-billion-parameter architecture optimized for edge deployment, pushing forward the balance between efficiency and performance for open-source OCR models. Built for real-world conditions, it accurately parses scanned, photographed, curved, tilted and screen-captured documents without cumbersome image pre-correction, lowering the barrier to large-scale document digitization.

The model handles dense bilingual Chinese-English content, complex mathematical formulas, and multi-level or borderless tables, consistently performing at a leading level across a broad range of mainstream industry evaluations. Beyond full-page reconstruction, it supports key information extraction (KIE), pulling specified fields from invoices, IDs and financial statements according to business instructions.

Powered by DSpark decoding acceleration, MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 significantly increases end-to-end throughput while lowering per-page latency. For enterprises processing millions of pages—such as financial contract archives, academic libraries and government records—this means processing far more documents with the same hardware and time budget, at a substantially lower computing cost.

To address the long-standing need for page-by-page manual review, ModelBest and OpenBMB also introduced MiniCPM-OCR Jev, the first OCR result decision model that acts as an “AI quality inspector.” Rather than performing OCR itself, Jev compares the source image with OCR output and rapidly assigns confidence scores to text, LaTeX formulas and tables, detecting missing characters, errors and formatting misalignments. Despite its compact 2B-parameter size, Jev delivers judgment accuracy typically associated with far larger models.

Jev supports cross-model deployment and can be integrated into existing OCR workflows without replacing the underlying OCR engine. It can automatically identify reliable results for direct processing, flag potentially inaccurate outputs for human review and select the best result from multiple OCR systems. This enables enterprises to move from full manual inspection toward risk-based, automated quality control.

The MiniCPM-OCR series is available on GitHub, Hugging Face and ModelScope, and supports vLLM, SGLang, llama.cpp and Ollama, along with SDKs, APIs, Agent Skill plugins and open-source fine-tuning code. Day-0 hardware adaptation covers AMD, Arm, Houmo AI, Intel and NVIDIA. Through the FlagOS software stack, it also has Day-0 support for AI and edge chips from CIX Technology, Huawei Ascend, Hygon, Iluvatar CoreX, Kunlunxin, MetaX, Moore Threads, Sunrise, T-Head, TsingMicro, NVIDIA and Apple Mac (Arm).

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SOURCE ModelBest

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Wulcea Elevates Consumer Trust in Heated Apparel Through Multi-National Safety Certifications and Rigorous Technical Testing

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NEW YORK, Oct. 31, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — As smart heated clothing gains broader adoption, consumers are paying closer attention to the safety and reliability of the technology behind these products. Wulcea, a brand specializing in graphene-powered heated apparel, combines its flexible GrapheneNano™ heating technology with documented safety compliance and durability testing for its heating components and battery systems.

“Trust in smart heated apparel goes beyond warmth—it comes down to confidence in battery safety and heating element reliability,” said John C, Founder of Wulcea. “Our goal is to give users peace of mind through certified technical standards.”

Advanced Graphene Heating Elements Supported by Global Standards

At the core of Wulcea’s thermal architecture is its GrapheneNano™ heating technology. Engineered to eliminate garment stiffness, Wulcea integrates flexible graphene elements that deliver balanced warmth across key upper-body zones while preserving natural garment drape and full freedom of movement.

Wulcea supports its heating components with applicable compliance documentation for major markets. These include CE and FCC compliance documentation addressing relevant electrical and electromagnetic compatibility requirements, as well as PSE compliance for applicable products in Japan. RoHS compliance further addresses restrictions on specified hazardous substances in applicable electrical and electronic components.

Multi-Certified Battery System for Dependable Power

To power its heating elements, Wulcea pairs its heated apparel with rechargeable battery systems designed for convenient everyday use. Featuring a compact design and housed in dedicated interior pockets, the batteries provide portable power while maintaining a streamlined garment profile and comfortable fit.

Wulcea backs its battery options with comprehensive third-party accreditations. UL certification demonstrates that the battery system has been evaluated against recognized power bank safety requirements, covering key areas such as overcharge protection, short-circuit protection, and thermal safety. The battery systems are also supported by applicable CE and FCC compliance documentation, addressing relevant regulatory requirements for electrical and electromagnetic compatibility.

For daily handling and travel, RoHS compliance validates that the battery system meets stringent global standards for material safety. The battery models have also undergone applicable UN 38.3 testing, supporting compliance with international requirements for lithium battery transportation.

Real-World Durability and Practical Usability

Component compliance forms Wulcea’s foundation, but reliability is defined by real-world performance. Built for high-flex endurance, Wulcea’s flexible graphene heating elements are tested through 10,000 active flexing cycles to maintain steady thermal output through repeated bending and everyday body movement.

Everyday convenience is equally essential. Built for hassle-free care, Wulcea’s heating elements withstand 100 machine-wash cycles under standard care guidelines, maintaining internal conductivity and structural stability under repeated laundering.

Integrated NTC temperature sensors provide thermal monitoring and are designed to stop heating if temperatures exceed 131°F (55°C). Combined with runtime of up to 10 hours on the low setting and a discreet interior control button, these features support practical everyday use in cold-weather conditions.

Aligning Technical Standards with Everyday Warmth

By combining graphene-based heating technology with documented battery safety compliance and durability testing, Wulcea continues to focus on the technical foundations of dependable heated apparel. This approach reflects the brand’s emphasis on bringing together safety considerations, practical functionality, and everyday comfort for cold-weather use.

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SOURCE Wulcea

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