Hong Kong– International expansion has become a top priority for Hong Kong retailers heading into 2026, with 40% of enterprise merchants planning to enter new markets and an average budget of HK$1.65 million earmarked for the effort, according to Adyen.
Yet global expansion is far from straightforward. Retailers face a fragmented payments landscape shaped by varying local preferences and regulatory frameworks, with system integration, fraud risks and licensing hurdles often slowing or derailing expansion plans altogether.
Entering new markets has traditionally required multiple vendor setups, separate contracts and unique payment integrations, creating substantial operational overhead. This challenge is compounded by technological barriers, as all surveyed merchants report obstacles to wider AI adoption, with 35% specifically citing difficulty integrating AI into existing systems.
Without a unified approach, each new integration continues to drain resources. Consolidating operations, however, can help eliminate this friction. Limitless Technology Group, the gifting e-commerce firm behind brands including LVLY, Flower Chimp and CakeRush, consolidated four payment gateways into one through Adyen, standardising its payments reporting across six markets, including Hong Kong SAR, Singapore and Australia.
As a result, the group brought more than 10 online stores live across four markets within a single week, enabling rapid expansion without the burden of managing multiple vendor setups.
Beyond integration, operating across diverse jurisdictions also complicates fraud prevention. Every market carries its own payment behaviours and risk patterns, making it harder for retailers to distinguish genuine shoppers from fraudulent ones.
Nearly nine in ten merchants (88%) have been targeted by or fallen victim to payment fraud in the past 12 months, with average losses among affected merchants reaching HK$1 million. Refund fraud is the most common type, affecting half of all retailers, followed by phishing scams, identity fraud and chargeback abuse, each impacting around two in five merchants.
A unified platform with dynamic fraud rules can help merchants manage these risks more effectively. GRYPHLINE, the studio behind the Arknights mobile games, deployed Adyen’s AI-driven fraud prevention and payment optimisation tools to distinguish between loyal players and sophisticated bot networks, while also reducing involuntary churn and failed transactions.
This combination helped the studio maintain high authorisation rates during high-velocity windows such as game release days.
Compliance presents a further obstacle, as navigating foreign regulatory frameworks and data protection laws remains a daunting task for expanding retailers. Data privacy and security concerns are cited by 38% of merchants as a top barrier to wider AI adoption, forcing retailers to balance local privacy compliance with data-driven personalisation across multiple jurisdictions.
A single platform can help streamline this process, as demonstrated by Cathay Pacific. Hong Kong’s home airline expanded its decade-long partnership with Adyen to include direct acquiring services across Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Japan and India.
Working with Adyen, the airline has been able to navigate regulatory requirements unique to each market while optimising payment performance. In India, for instance, Cathay Pacific achieved a 10% increase in authorisation rates since implementing Adyen’s acquiring solution.
“International expansion represents a significant opportunity for Hong Kong retailers, but success depends on getting the fundamentals right,” said Kai Tang, Head of Hong Kong at Adyen.
“Merchants who partner with the right payments partner that adapts to local market nuances without requiring custom integration for each region will be best positioned to scale efficiently and securely,” Tang concluded.
