Foreign news: UnionPay launches digital wallet in South Korea, HSBC USA not indicted, and more
Chinese payments giant UnionPay has launched a payment service called QuickPass in South Korea, the first overseas market to adopt the technology, the South China Morning Post reports. UnionPay has established an international division and is looking to expand overseas to make up for expected market share losses as Visa and MasterCard enter the Chinese market. QuickPass is a contactless digital wallet and is scheduled to launch next in Hong Kong, with other Asian markets to follow. The company has also become an issuer of payment cards in overseas market, with 60 million cards in circulation in 40 countries (it has 5.5 billion cards in circulation in China). Law360 website reports that a staff report of a House subcommittee on Monday blasted former US Attorney General Eric Holder and the US Department of Justice, saying they had "not been forthright" with Congress about a 2012 decision not to indict HSBC Bank USA for money-laundering violations. The report by the Republican staff of the House Committee on Financial Services titled, "Too Big to Jail: Inside the Obama Justice Department's Decision Not to Hold Wall Street Accountable," accuses Holder of overruling his subordinates who wanted to indict the bank. New York's top financial services regulator said on Monday that the creation of a federal charter for online lenders would be a "massive mistake," staking a claim for state regulation of the emerging industry even as federal counterparts express openness to the idea. New York Superintendent of Financial Services, Maria Vullo, said in an appearance at the New York State Bar Association that state regulators had a good handle on emerging lending options, ranging from marketplace lenders to firms engaging in online payday and other services.