Connect with us

Technology

Registrar Corp acquires Foodsteps as food industry faces mounting pressures to deliver supply chain sustainability

Published

on

LONDON, and HAMPTON, Va. , July 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Registrar Corp (“Registrar”), a Paine Schwartz Partners portfolio company and the U.S.’ leading provider of regulatory and compliance software, has acquired Foodsteps, a pioneering UK-based company dedicated to helping food businesses reduce the environmental impact of their products.

Launched in 2018 by Cambridge University graduate, Anya Doherty, Foodsteps has expanded 14-fold since 2021 is now used by over 150 food businesses worldwide, including Compass Group, Sky and Albert Heijn, to accurately measure, understand, reduce, and communicate their environmental impacts from farm to fork.

The acquisition comes as the food industry – a major contributor to emissions and biodiversity loss – faces accelerating global requirements and mounting pressure to demonstrate progress against near-term sustainability targets.

The EU introduced the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) last year, with other major governments seeking to implement similar reporting requirements. Sustainability targets are also under scrutiny. In March, the Science-Based Targets Initiatives (SBTi) identified major food businesses that had failed to meet the deadline to set targets and meet decarbonization commitments.[1]

Foodsteps’ platform analyzes data across company supply chains, incorporating sustainability metrics across farming, packaging, processing, and transport, and providing automated Life Cycle Assessments on products. It gives organizations a level of supply chain transparency that the industry has historically lacked, enabling companies to meet burgeoning reporting requirements, as well as set and monitor targets.

The acquisition of Foodsteps by Registrar Corp will give the platform access to a global market of over 32,000 companies in 190 countries, including 28,000 food businesses, as well as sustainability expertise from Paine Schwartz Partners, the largest private equity firm dedicated to sustainable food chain investing.

Anya Doherty, CEO and Founder, Foodsteps commented: “This acquisition represents a significant milestone not just for our team but also for the future of food sustainability. By combining Foodsteps’ software, data, and expertise in sustainable food with Registrar’s global leadership in regulation and compliance, we are poised to deliver the next generation of sustainability solutions that the food industry needs.”

Brian Thies, Senior Vice President of Corporate Development at Registrar commented: Foodsteps’ data platform is like no other. With industry leading data that is recognised through partnerships with the University of Oxford, WWF and WRAP, the company has a track-record of helping procurement, sustainability, and marketing teams meet reporting standards and net zero goals. By joining forces, we hope to help businesses comply with sustainability and compliance regulations and facilitate the transition to net zero, by enabling the growth of transparent and sustainable global supply chains.”

Notes to Editors

About Registrar Corp: Registrar Corp is a global leader in FDA compliance, offering services, software, and consulting to over 30,000 companies in more than 190 countries.

About Foodsteps: Foodsteps is a London-based company focused on making food a solution to climate and nature crises through its platform, which helps businesses measure and reduce environmental impacts.

About Paine Schwartz Partners: Paine Schwartz Partners is the largest private equity firm dedicated to sustainable food chain investing, with ~$6 billion in assets under management. The firm focuses on productivity, sustainability, and health and wellness across the food and agribusiness value chain.

[1] SBTi identifies several food businesses failing to follow through on targets, https://instituteofsustainabilitystudies.com/insights/news-analysis/sbti-identifies-food-businesses-failing-to-follow-through-on-targets/

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/registrar-corp-acquires-foodsteps-as-food-industry-faces-mounting-pressures-to-deliver-supply-chain-sustainability-302203955.html

SOURCE Registrar Corp; Foodsteps

Continue Reading

Technology

Tencent and Mastercard Sign MOU on Cross-Border Payment Interoperability and Agentic Payments

Published

on

By

Proposed collaboration spans QR acceptance for international visitors in the Chinese mainland, remittances into the Weixin/WeChat ecosystem and AI-enabled commerce

HONG KONG, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — TenPay Global, Tencent’s cross-border payment platform, and Mastercard have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to explore greater cross-border payment interoperability and new opportunities in agentic payments, the companies announced during Hong Kong FinTech Week 2026.

The proposed collaboration aims to make cross-border commerce more connected. For international visitors, that means more ways to pay using familiar digital wallets and issuer apps at QR-enabled merchants in the Chinese mainland. For merchants, it creates more opportunities to serve international customers.

More ways to pay for international visitors

The announcement comes as inbound travel to the Chinese mainland continues to grow, alongside international visitors’ payment needs. According to Mastercard data, inbound spending in the Chinese mainland grew 51.3% year over year in the 12 months to June this year. From January to August 2026, transactions made with international digital wallets via Weixin Pay in the Chinese mainland grew 81.8% in number and 80.6% in value year on year. With international travel and spending rising, payment interoperability can give visitors more ways to pay while helping merchants capture growing cross-border demand.

As part of the MOU, TenPay Global and Mastercard will combine their capabilities in payment processing, currency conversion, risk management and fraud prevention, to support a more seamless payment experience for international visitors and merchants. Both companies will also engage digital wallet providers, financial institutions and payment service providers to broaden participation in cross-border QR payments.

The proposed collaboration builds on Mastercard’s payment facilitation initiatives in the Chinese mainland and Mastercard Wallet Pay, a portfolio of solutions designed to support interoperability and innovation across digital wallets and card-based payments.

More accessible cross-border remittances

TenPay Global and Mastercard also plan to deepen their existing cross-border remittance collaboration through Mastercard Move, giving more overseas senders a convenient way to transfer money into the Weixin ecosystem. Mastercard Move brings together Mastercard’s global money movement capabilities, supporting transfers across more than 200 countries and territories and more than 150 currencies, with reach to nearly 17 billion endpoints and 95% of the world’s banked population.

TenPay Global and Mastercard will explore opportunities across payment interoperability, wallet innovation, cross-border payment infrastructure, security and fraud prevention, including how Mastercard’s value-added services could support future innovation within the broader Weixin/WeChat ecosystem.

Scaling AI-powered commerce with trust

Looking ahead, the collaboration will explore how the same principles of interoperability, trust and security can extend into agentic commerce, as AI agents reshape how consumers and businesses discover, decide and transact. This includes exploring solutions such as Mastercard Agent Pay, Mastercard Agent Connect and Virtual C-Suite to scale trusted AI-enabled commerce for both consumers and merchants.

About TenPay Global

TenPay Global is Tencent’s cross-border payment platform, comprising a network of licensed financial institutions under Tencent. By connecting the Weixin ecosystem, global payment partners, and international users and scenarios, TenPay Global provides end-to-end payment solutions for cross-border remittances, cross-border consumption, global collections and global acquiring. Backed by years of industry experience and a robust risk management framework, TenPay Global delivers world-class standards in system reliability, fund security, and regulatory compliance. Official website: TenPay Global

About Mastercard

Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a resilient economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/tencent-and-mastercard-sign-mou-on-cross-border-payment-interoperability-and-agentic-payments-302926079.html

SOURCE Tenpay Global

Continue Reading

Technology

YeePay Explores New Approaches to Airline B2B Order Payments at IATA WFS & WPS 2026

Published

on

By

MACAU, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — YeePay participated in the 2026 IATA WFS & WPS, held October 28–29 at the Galaxy International Convention Center .

At the event, YeePay showcased its Global Corporate Account and integrated aviation and travel distribution solutions, highlighting its capabilities in cross-border fund management and distribution channel growth.

At the IATA Payment Services Forum, Yu Chen, Co-Founder of YeePay, delivered a presentation titled “China’s Unique Airline B2B Order Payment Ecosystem.” His presentation addressed key industry challenges in the New Distribution Capability era, compared airline payment models across different global markets, and explored the wider potential of B2B order payments for the global aviation industry.

Yu Chen highlighted the significant costs associated with airline payments: “Annual payment costs across the global aviation industry amount to USD 22 billion, with transaction fees and operating expenses consuming nearly half of airlines’ profit per passenger.

By comparison, YeePay’s B2B account-based payment solution enables real-time processing at the individual order level, supported by complete transaction data and automated foreign exchange conversion.

The model allows transactions to be completed without requiring advance payments or delayed settlement, while supporting the entire order lifecycle, including payments, refunds, ticket changes, and ancillary services.

Developed through more than 20 years of experience serving the aviation and travel sector, YeePay’s B2B payment solution is designed to support the global airline distribution market, meeting the international collection and payout needs of airlines, online travel agencies (OTAs), and travel agents.

Backed by a service network covering more than 200 countries and regions and supporting over 100 currencies, it also supports real-time order payments, flexible settlement across multiple banks, regulatory compliance, risk management, improved cash flow, and distribution channel expansion.

The solution can be adapted for international airlines adopting NDC-based distribution models, particularly those looking to expand into markets with foreign exchange controls, offering significant potential for wider global adoption.

YeePay aims to export its proven B2B order payment capabilities worldwide. We partner with global low-cost carriers and full-service airlines to pursue collaborative innovation addressing industry pain points under the NDC new distribution and retail transformation, including cross-border settlement, order reconciliation and cost control. Our goal is to resolve long-standing challenges in global aviation B2B settlement, unlock global capital channels covering the Chinese distribution market, empower upstream airlines with transaction technology, and drive digital upgrading of the global travel ecosystem.”

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/yeepay-explores-new-approaches-to-airline-b2b-order-payments-at-iata-wfs–wps-2026-302925918.html

Continue Reading

Technology

HIZENERGY Retains BloombergNEF Tier 1 Status Amid Tighter Q4 2026 Evaluation Criteria

Published

on

By

HEFEI, China, Nov. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — HIZENERGY has once again secured its place on the BloombergNEF (BNEF) Energy Storage Tier 1 list for Q4 2026, as the benchmark rolled out a major methodology upgrade and significantly raised qualification thresholds for storage vendors globally.

Widely adopted by financial institutions, asset owners, EPC contractors and institutional investors worldwide, the BNEF Tier 1 assessment centres on bankability, independently verified operational track records, technical robustness and reliable cross-border delivery. This quarter’s stricter screening makes continuous Tier 1 recognition a stronger, more credible validation of vendor capability. HIZENERGY maintained its Tier 1 standing backed by a growing portfolio of third-party validated live projects, proven bankability credentials and a mature, regionally anchored global delivery network.

Focused on behind-the-meter commercial and industrial (C&I) energy storage, HIZENERGY’s flagship EnerBox series and liquid-cooled BESS platforms serve diversified end-use scenarios: manufacturing plants, industrial parks, rooftop PV sites, logistics depots, EV charging hubs, cold storage facilities and commercial buildings. The integrated systems support multiple value streams: peak shaving and demand charge reduction, wholesale energy arbitrage, maximised PV self-consumption, seamless off-grid backup for critical loads, voltage stabilisation and participation in demand response and ancillary service markets. Powered by our in-house developed PCS, we deliver customised solutions with site-specific management and enterprise-tailored strategies, unlocking layered revenue streams while helping clients defer costly grid upgrade investments.

Long-term operational reliability remains the core of our product design philosophy. Instead of chasing short-term market hype, HIZENERGY prioritises project certainty — the most critical requirement for asset owners and investors. Our standardised product lineup paired with localised on-site commissioning, after-sales and technical support delivers finance-ready, predictable storage assets built for decades of cycling.

Navigating ongoing price volatility and cyclical shifts across the energy storage sector, HIZENERGY continues to deploy field-proven, safety-certified C&I storage solutions and full-lifecycle delivery services for international partners. We collaborate closely with stakeholders across the globe to build a resilient, transparent and trustworthy C&I storage supply chain, accelerating distributed renewable adoption and flexible, secure power capacity for C&I users. For more information, visit us at https://en.hizenergy-ess.com/

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/hizenergy-retains-bloombergnef-tier-1-status-amid-tighter-q4-2026-evaluation-criteria-302925949.html

Continue Reading

Trending