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UnionPay and Payments NZ Explore Digital Payments Innovation

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AUCKLAND, New Zealand, Oct. 29, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Mr. Dong Junfeng, Chairman of China UnionPay and UnionPay International, met with Steve Wiggins, Chief Executive Officer of Payments NZ, in Auckland on 20 October 2026 to discuss digital payment innovation in New Zealand, and ongoing engagement between the two organisations.

New Zealand is a founding member of APEC, with strong agricultural and services sectors. Since establishing diplomatic relations in 1972, China and New Zealand have steadily expanded their economic ties. China is New Zealand’s largest goods trading partner, top export market, and primary source of imports, while ranking third among its international visitor markets by spending in 2025. Growing trade and travel continue to drive demand for convenient cross-border payment solutions.

Payments NZ is the governance organisation for New Zealand’s core payment systems, overseeing several interbank clearing systems and industry standards. UnionPay became a member in 2015, and has continued to engage with Payments NZ since then.

Mr. Dong outlined UnionPay’s global payment network and its cooperation with more than 200 digital wallets outside the China’s mainland. Discussions focused on improving cross-border wallet connectivity and using QR and contactless payment solutions to meet the needs of different markets.

Executives exchanged insights on open banking, open APIs, and the development of next-generation payment systems in New Zealand. They explored opportunities for UnionPay to contribute to payment modernisation conversation.

The conversation also extended to expanding online and in-store acceptance of UnionPay cards and related payment products, including through acquiring system upgrades, improvements to in-store acceptance, and integration with online payment platforms. Other topics included agentic payments and the opportunities and regulatory challenges arising from new technologies and business models.

Mr. Wiggins outlined developments in New Zealand’s payments industry and the role of Payments NZ. He welcomed the opportunity to continue dialogue with UnionPay as part of Payments NZ’s broader engagement across the payments ecosystem. Mr. Dong expressed interest in working with Payments NZ and its member network to improve services for people travelling between China and New Zealand and for users of UnionPay partner wallets worldwide.

Mr. Wiggins also invited UnionPay to attend The Point 2026, an industry conference organised by Payments NZ, to exchange views with other New Zealand payment organisations on business developments and innovative products.

UnionPay entered the New Zealand market in 2008. Its acceptance coverage now exceeds 90%, and UnionPay cards are now widely issued by local financial institutions. UnionPay will continue working with partners to improve payment services, strengthen financial integration between China and other APEC economies, and advance cross-border payment cooperation between China and New Zealand and across the broader Asia-Pacific region.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/unionpay-and-payments-nz-explore-digital-payments-innovation-302923186.html

SOURCE UnionPay International

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KeyStone Solutions Wins 2026 MSP 501 Vanguard Award for Innovation

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KeyStone Solutions, a managed IT and cybersecurity provider based in Cleveland, Tennessee, has won the 2026 MSP 501 Vanguard Award from Channel Partners and MSP Summit. The award recognizes managed service providers at the forefront of technology and service innovation.

CLEVELAND, Nov. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — KeyStone Solutions, LLC has won the 2026 MSP 501 Vanguard Award from Channel Partners and MSP Summit. The award was presented Sept. 30 at the MSP 501 Gala during the MSP Summit in Orlando, Fla.

“Our team has done tremendous work over the last year to modernize and automate our service delivery.” Preston West, CEO, KeyStone Solutions

The MSP 501 Special Awards are application-based. A panel of industry leaders, including top global MSPs, analysts and past award recipients, judges each entry.

The Vanguard Award goes to a company at the forefront of technology and service innovation in the managed services channel, including AI, cybersecurity and cloud. Winners use original thinking to meet clients’ needs and to drive their own financial success.

“We are honored to be recognized. Our team has done tremendous work over the last year to modernize and automate our service delivery. I couldn’t be prouder of their hard work and their focus on the customer experience,” said Preston West, CEO of KeyStone Solutions.

“To qualify for the Vanguard award, companies had to document what they have done in terms of innovative and original thinking in meeting clients’ needs and how this has contributed to the company’s overall financial success,” said Dave Raffo, MSP 501 editor who oversees the awards process. “These are among the most innovative MSPs in the world.”

“The MSP 501 Special Awards represent the pinnacle of achievement in the managed services industry, recognizing organizations and individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership, innovation, and impact,” said Robert DeMarzo, VP Content, Informa Channels, which conducts the MSP 501 survey each year.

About KeyStone Solutions, LLC

KeyStone Solutions is a managed IT and cybersecurity company based in Cleveland, Tennessee. Since 2006, KeyStone has worked as the IT department for hundreds of small and mid-sized businesses, with customers headquartered in 15 states. Its ITTaaS® (IT Team as a Service) offering delivers help desk support and cybersecurity, with optional vCISO and GRC services, and the company now provides AI services. KeyStone holds a SOC 2 Type II report and is a Microsoft 365 Solutions Partner. Learn more at keystone.solutions.

About Channel Partners, MSP Summit and the MSP 501

Channel Partners Conference & Expo and MSP Summit serve the global community of technology advisors, managed service providers, channel partners and technology suppliers, and run the MSP 501, which honors the world’s top-performing managed service providers. Learn more at themspsummit.com.

Media Contact

Richard King, KeyStone Solutions, 1 4234646424, rking@keystone.solutions, www.keystone.solutions

Dave Raffo, Informa, david.raffo@informa.com, informa.com

View original content:https://www.prweb.com/releases/keystone-solutions-wins-2026-msp-501-vanguard-award-for-innovation-302932350.html

SOURCE KeyStone Solutions

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Putting Young Innovators Center Stage: Leaders In Future Tech+ Wraps with ¥526 Million in Investment Intentions and 31 Enterprise Landings

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NANJING, China, Nov. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — On November 7, the grand finale of Leaders In Future Tech+ — a documentary sci-tech innovation program jointly produced by China Media Group, the Ministry of Education, and the Nanjing Municipal People’s Government — aired as the Youth Innovation Carnival.

Since its October 3 premiere, the program traveled to 10 cities across China, selecting 100 teams of young innovators with an average age of just 28 from nearly 500 applicants. Fifteen finalists advanced to the finale, presenting breakthroughs spanning AI chips, optical interconnect, biomedicine, smart agriculture, and more.

To date, the program has facilitated ¥526 million in investment intentions covering 34 participating enterprises, and helped 31 companies reach landing agreements with 11 districts and counties of Nanjing.

At the carnival, the “Leaders In Future Tech+ Little Giant Transformation Plan” was launched, with 13 enterprises selected in the first batch to receive a five-module service system guiding them toward specialized, high-end development.

Behind these numbers is a media-driven innovation model: closed-door investment meetings were turned into open, transparent dialogues, connecting young innovators directly with venture capital firms, academicians, industry experts, and local governments — with the focus not on short-term commercial maturity, but on long-term growth potential.

The finale also showed how technology serves everyday life: non-invasive brain-computer interface demonstrations, low-cost bone-repair materials, and ultra-low-cost fresh-keeping cards that reduce agricultural loss — each a footnote to innovation with human warmth.

With Season One concluded, Season Two recruitment is now open to innovation teams nationwide via China Media Group’s official channels and the Yangshipin app (CMG Mobile). As the program’s message goes: put young innovators at center stage — and hand the future to innovation.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/putting-young-innovators-center-stage-leaders-in-future-tech-wraps-with-526-million-in-investment-intentions-and-31-enterprise-landings-302932710.html

SOURCE China Media Group

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GSMA MWC26 Doha opens with call to align on global industry standards and close MENA’s connectivity gap

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Operators, technology leaders, policymakers and innovators gather in Doha today for three days of exhibition, collaboration and debate on the future of connectivity across the Middle East and North Africa

DOHA, Qatar, Nov. 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — MWC26 Doha, held in partnership with Qatar’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), opened today at Doha Exhibition and Convention Centre (DECC), bringing together connectivity ecosystem to shape the next phase of growth for a mobile economy forecast to add $470 billion to the Middle East and North Africa by 2030.

MWC26 Doha officially opened today, in presence of His Excellency Sheikh Saoud bin Abdulrahman bin Hassan bin Ali Al Thani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs. His Excellency Mr. Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, State of Qatar delivered a welcome address.

In his opening remarks, H.E. Mr. Mohammed bin Ali Al Mannai, Minister of Communications and Information Technology, said: “The second edition of MWC Doha takes place at a time when the requirements of telecommunications infrastructure are undergoing fundamental change. As artificial intelligence advances towards executing tasks through intelligent agents, the need for more resilient networks and advanced computing capabilities continues to grow. At the same time, global challenges underscore the importance of diversifying connectivity routes and ensuring service continuity.”

GSMA Director General Vivek Badrinath and ITU Secretary-General Doreen Bogdan-Martin took to the stage for a fireside chat. Mr Badrinath set out the key priorities shaping the region’s connected future, with a continued commitment to global standards keeping networks and services interoperable across markets, as well as a renewed push to extend connectivity to populations that remain offline in MENA.

Vivek Badrinath, Director General, GSMA, said: “Progress only counts if everyone shares in it. That means two things: global standards that keep networks, services and devices working across borders, and a concerted effort to connect the people who are still offline. Over the next three days, MWC Doha, alongside its co-location with ITU’s PP-26, will bring together the policy makers, innovators and industry leaders setting these standards and building these networks, to help make this vision a reality. As the ITU Plenipotentiary continues, we are confident that the enhanced dialog which our co-location has allowed will feed into the important conversations taking place.”

SOURCE GSMA

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