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Powered by local rails, the partnership enables fast, low-cost transfers in more than 40 currencies.
HONG KONG, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspire, the leading all-in-one finance platform for modern businesses, is taking its mission to build a truly connected financial ecosystem further with the launch of fast, low-cost international payments in Hong Kong. Powered by Wise Platform, Wise's global payment infrastructure for banks and enterprises, the new integration enables customers to send money in more than 40 currencies, including to countries like Singapore, the United States, Australia, Japan and Korea — directly from the Aspire platform.
Building on a successful partnership that began in Singapore in 2019, Aspire is now extending its Wise Platform-powered cross-border payments experience to customers in Hong Kong, offering fast transfers and low transaction costs within the same interface they already use for payments, cards, and expense management.
"Cross-border payments are the backbone of global commerce, and for businesses in Hong Kong, speed and cost efficiency can make all the difference," said Andrea Baronchelli, CEO and Co-founder of Aspire. "By embedding Wise's infrastructure directly into Aspire, we've created a truly connected experience — where cards, payments, expenses, and global transfers all work seamlessly together. This expansion to our partnership is a major step toward our vision of building the most connected financial operating system for modern businesses."
"In a major hub, like Hong Kong, where companies operate across borders every day, offering a best in class cross-border experience is essential and a key requirement for any business looking for a financial partner. Aspire has been a key partner since 2019 and enabling them to expand and offer the same cross-border experience across their merchants demonstrates the value of Wise Platform. We're proud to be providing Aspire with the speed, transparency, and end-to-end payments control their customers expect from a partner," said Samarth Bansal, APAC General Manager, Wise Platform.
The partnership marks another milestone in Aspire's rapid growth in Hong Kong. Since launching in 2024, Aspire has recorded 3x growth, driven by startups and SMEs seeking a modern, connected alternative to traditional banking.
The new international payments feature is now live for all Aspire customers in Hong Kong.
About Aspire
Aspire is the all-in-one finance platform for modern businesses globally, which has helped over 50,000 companies save time and money with international payments, treasury, expense, payable, and receivable management solutions - accessible via a single, user-friendly account. Headquartered in Singapore, Aspire has 500+ employees across nine countries, clients in 30+ markets and is backed by global top tier VCs, including Sequoia, Lightspeed, Y-Combinator, Tencent and Paypal.
About Wise Platform
Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world's money. Over the last decade, Wise has built an entirely new network for the world's money.
Thanks to Wise Platform, banks and large companies can leverage Wise's technology and embed the best way to send, receive, and manage money internationally into their existing infrastructure. With a wide variety of partners worldwide, Wise Platform saves banks and businesses time and money by allowing them to seamlessly bring fast, cheap, transparent and convenient cross-border payments to their customers.
Powered by local rails, the partnership enables fast, low-cost transfers in more than 40 currencies.
HONG KONG, Dec. 9, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Aspire, the leading all-in-one finance platform for modern businesses, is taking its mission to build a truly connected financial ecosystem further with the launch of fast, low-cost international payments in Hong Kong. Powered by Wise Platform, Wise's global payment infrastructure for banks and enterprises, the new integration enables customers to send money in more than 40 currencies, including to countries like Singapore, the United States, Australia, Japan and Korea — directly from the Aspire platform.
Building on a successful partnership that began in Singapore in 2019, Aspire is now extending its Wise Platform-powered cross-border payments experience to customers in Hong Kong, offering fast transfers and low transaction costs within the same interface they already use for payments, cards, and expense management.
"Cross-border payments are the backbone of global commerce, and for businesses in Hong Kong, speed and cost efficiency can make all the difference," said Andrea Baronchelli, CEO and Co-founder of Aspire. "By embedding Wise's infrastructure directly into Aspire, we've created a truly connected experience — where cards, payments, expenses, and global transfers all work seamlessly together. This expansion to our partnership is a major step toward our vision of building the most connected financial operating system for modern businesses."
"In a major hub, like Hong Kong, where companies operate across borders every day, offering a best in class cross-border experience is essential and a key requirement for any business looking for a financial partner. Aspire has been a key partner since 2019 and enabling them to expand and offer the same cross-border experience across their merchants demonstrates the value of Wise Platform. We're proud to be providing Aspire with the speed, transparency, and end-to-end payments control their customers expect from a partner," said Samarth Bansal, APAC General Manager, Wise Platform.
The partnership marks another milestone in Aspire's rapid growth in Hong Kong. Since launching in 2024, Aspire has recorded 3x growth, driven by startups and SMEs seeking a modern, connected alternative to traditional banking.
The new international payments feature is now live for all Aspire customers in Hong Kong.
About Aspire
Aspire is the all-in-one finance platform for modern businesses globally, which has helped over 50,000 companies save time and money with international payments, treasury, expense, payable, and receivable management solutions - accessible via a single, user-friendly account. Headquartered in Singapore, Aspire has 500+ employees across nine countries, clients in 30+ markets and is backed by global top tier VCs, including Sequoia, Lightspeed, Y-Combinator, Tencent and Paypal.
About Wise Platform
Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world's money. Over the last decade, Wise has built an entirely new network for the world's money.
Thanks to Wise Platform, banks and large companies can leverage Wise's technology and embed the best way to send, receive, and manage money internationally into their existing infrastructure. With a wide variety of partners worldwide, Wise Platform saves banks and businesses time and money by allowing them to seamlessly bring fast, cheap, transparent and convenient cross-border payments to their customers.
** The press release content is from PR Newswire. Bastille Post is not involved in its creation. **
Aspire launches fast, low-cost international payments in Hong Kong, expanding partnership with Wise Platform
79th Festival de Cannes • Spotlight on Chinese Cinema • China Pavilion
CANNES, France, May 21, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- On May 14 (local time), the Chinese film My World Without Me, directed by Tian Hairong, was screened at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes. Selected for the International Promotional Screening Unit of the 79th Festival de Cannes, the film garnered warm applause and high praise from audiences around the world, as well as invaluable feedback and insights.
Following the screening, the film's creative team joined a themed panel at the China Pavilion titled "The Power of Images and Care for the Soul," engaging in a heartfelt dialogue with filmmakers and audiences from across the globe on the themes of life and adversity — resonating deeply with the tender hearts of people from all cultural backgrounds. The panel was hosted by China Film Foundation & China Film Association and organized by China Film Foundation • Wutianming Film Fund.
About the Film and Its Creative Team
My World Without Me is directed and headlined by Tian Hairong, with Zhang Hanyu serving as executive producer for the first time. The film was crafted over nearly seven years with exceptional care and dedication. It focuses on the contemporary community of people with hidden depression, conveying love and hope through the quiet spaces of daily life and the gentle light found in ordinary moments. Confronting suffering head-on, the film exemplifies the restrained aesthetics and humanistic warmth characteristic of Chinese realist cinema, offering an Eastern perspective on mental health narratives.
Tian Hairong is a graduate of the Performance Department of the Shanghai Theatre Academy and a renowned actress and producer in mainland China. She received the Golden Deer Award for Best Actress at the Changchun International Film Festival for Romantic Girl, the Best Actress award at the Nordic International Film Festival for The Spirit of a Generation: Tang Qunying, and the Best Supporting Actress award at the 12th Macao International Film Festival. Tian expressed her hope that through international platforms such as Cannes, the world will come to feel the warmth and depth of Chinese cinema.
International Recognition
French director Frédéric Oberlin praised the film for using a uniquely Eastern mastery of emotion to deliver silent feelings directly to the heart. Sinologist Luisa Prudentino noted after viewing the film that its sincere emotional core transcends cultural barriers, protecting the dignity of life and becoming a warm thread of empathy connecting different civilizations.
The film is set to continue participating in further international film festivals, using the power of cinema to build bridges of cultural communication and to help Chinese stories reach the world in a manner rich with humanistic care.
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Touching Hearts Through Cinema -- Chinese Film "My World Without Me" Earns High Praise at Cannes
