Malaysia – Financial services platform Atome has announced its partnership with luxury retail and lifestyle group Valiram to offer flexible payment checkout in Malaysia and Singapore.

The partnership entails Atome integrating its technology into Valiram’s checkout process, improving customer experience.

The payment checkout offering is already live in online and offline stores in Malaysia, with plans to expand in Singapore in the upcoming weeks.

Valiram has a wide portfolio of brands, spanning fashion, beauty, lifestyle, food and beverage. The brands in its collection include Victoria’s Secret, Bath & Body Works, Rituals, Steve Madden, Michael Kors, Bacha Coffee, and Tory Burch among others.

Mukesh Valiram, executive director of Valiram, commented, “We are dedicated to continuously innovating and enhancing the customer shopping experience. The integration of Atome’s embedded financing technology not only elevates the checkout process but also enables us to connect with new customer segments through flexible financing and payment options. In the first month of our partnership going live in Malaysia, we’ve already experienced a remarkable 20% increase in average basket size from newer customer segments, and we’re excited about the growth opportunities this collaboration presents across the region.”

“We are excited to partner with Valiram, a retail leader synonymous with luxury and consumer lifestyle brands and innovation. Combining our disciplined risk management and underwriting technology with Valiram’s portfolio of world-class luxury and lifestyle brands supports their expansion into new consumer segments and business growth. Their customers now have the choice and ability to shop for their favourite brands with flexible payment plans, ultimately expanding their customer base and their purchasing power,” Andy Tan, chief commercial officer of Atome, said.

Singapore – Advance Intelligence Group’s digital financial technology platform Atome Financial has secured a three-year term loan facility from EvolutionX Debt Capital (EvolutionX) and is concurrently working with a syndicate of investors to fully utilise the accordion feature of the facility which can increase the total amount to up to US$100m.

The new facility will drive expansion of the company’s profitable regional credit portfolio and support the launch of new products such as savings, lending, insurance, and Atome Card (Pay Later Anywhere) in markets including Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Rahul Shah, partner at EvolutionX, said: “We have been impressed by Atome Financial’s management team and support from long-term investors and partners, underpinned by strong focus on risk management and operational efficiency, which has resulted in sustainable and profitable business growth. The launch of innovative and fit-for-market solutions like the Atome Card (PayLater Anywhere) and lending products demonstrates their ability to expand offerings while leveraging local market expertise.”

He added, “This is our first fintech investment in Southeast Asia, and we’re excited to support Atome Financial in their ongoing journey to improve financial inclusion and access to mobile-first financial services in large under-served markets in Southeast Asia.”

Meanwhile, Jefferson Chen, group co-founder and CEO of Advance Intelligence Group, commented, “With Atome Financial having reached profitability earlier this year, we’re excited to partner EvolutionX for our next stage of growth. This new facility recognises Atome Financial’s operational excellence and platform value as we look to accelerate the momentum of our digital financial services business, the expansion of regional strategic partnerships like TikTok Shop and Lazada as well as the launch of the new Atome Card, savings and lending products across key Southeast Asian markets.” 

Atome Financial, which comprises Atome Buy-Now-Pay-Later (BNPL) and Kredit Pintar, has recently posted impressive business performance for FY2023 with operating income nearly doubling to US$170m from the year before. A key factor was the profitability of its BNPL business, driven by a 40% year-on-year surge in GMV to US$1.5b and 130% y-o-y growth in revenue, despite FY2023 being a period of capital market contraction and macroeconomic headwinds.

Singapore – Insurance company Chubb and buy now, pay later platform Atome have announced a regional partnership to help drive consumer protection across Southeast Asia. Saod partnership will enable both companies to co-create a range of insurance products available to Atome’s customers in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.

The first insurance product, ‘Bill Secure,’ is available in Singapore and will be rolled out in Malaysia later this month. Targeted at consumers using buy now, pay later services, ‘Bill Secure’ covers up to five times the transaction amount of the purchase price in the event of permanent disability or accidental death. 

Moreover, the claims payout enables the insured or their next-of-kin to settle the payment of the purchased item while the remaining balance goes to the insured or their estate.

Atome and Chubb will launch a second insurance product, Shopping Secure, in the second quarter of this year.

Ben Howell, regional head of consumer for Asia-Pacific at Chubb, said, “Chubb is committed to broadening consumer protection by introducing relevant, convenient and affordable insurance solutions digitally that protect consumers and their livelihoods. With Atome, we are leveraging technology to enable individuals and their families in Southeast Asia to access essential protection, helping to narrow the insurance protection gap in Southeast Asia.”

Meanwhile, Bernard Chan, chief operating officer at Atome, commented, “Atome started as a buy now, pay later and embedded financing platform. Today, we have grown to become a digital financial services platform that also includes insurance, cards and lending in various markets.”

He added, “Whether it’s embedded financing, or now embedded insurance, our goal is to empower our millions of users by offering tailored products as they journey through different life stages, leveraging our unique expertise in risk-managed credit and responsible financing. Our shared approach with Chubb is another example of our commitment to enhance the overall financial well-being of our customers, and our overall mission of increasing digital and financial inclusion through technology.”

Manila, Philippines – Digital financial services platform Atome has partnered with Mastercard to allow Atome card holders in the Philippines to convert their rewards points into gaming credits via the Mastercard Gamer Xchange (MGX). 

In this partnership, MGX will facilitate a convenient exchange to help gamers in the Philippines convert their rewards points into gaming credits across nearly 4000 game titles in a spend-and-earn exchange. 

Up until March, gaming enthusiasts using the Atome Card to shop can obtain as much as ₱2,000 worth of gaming credits. 

This partnership offer follows the recent upgrade of the Atome Card, which now allows Filipino consumers to shop and ‘buy now and pay later’ anywhere as long as Mastercard is accepted. 

Magic Tang, head of cards business at Atome, said, “We’ve seen a very strong take-up for the Atome Card, especially among digital-native Gen Z and millennial users in the Philippines, with one of the top use cases for the Atome Card being online purchases. We see a strong synergy in this partnership with Mastercard’s MGX platform as it provides Atome Card holders and gamers access to a wide range of gaming credit options.”

Also speaking on the partnership, Kaveri Khullar, senior vice president for consumer marketing and sponsorships at Mastercard, commented, “MGX bridges the world of rewards to the thriving global gaming community, offering an innovative and seamless redemption solution in a new category. From eSports viewers to console and smartphone gaming enthusiasts across a range of demographics, it opens new connections to the world’s fastest-expanding entertainment market.”

She added, “As the Philippine gaming market anticipates further growth in the next few years, this partnership with Atome is a fantastic example of how innovative payment experiences are evolving to connect consumers to their passions.”

Singapore – Buy Now Pay Later platform in Asia, Atome, has launched an online travel fair, ‘Own Your Adventure’, that offers users travel deals from its travel and hospitality merchants. The travel fair is a regional campaign that will roll out across Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines.

The platform said the campaign launch is in anticipation of the spike in travel demand. Running from 4 to 16 November, Atome will be offering attractive vouchers and travel deals of up to 15% from merchants Agoda, Cathay Pacific, Kkday, Luxury Escapes, and Trip.com.

Rainal Lu, head of growth at Atome, said, “With so many borders opening up again, there is a huge latent demand across the region to travel and experience new and old holiday destinations. With the support of so many of our regional travel partners, we’re excited to launch our year-end travel fair and support the [post-Covid-19] travel recovery boom by giving travellers choice, convenience and accessibility in how they want to pay and book their much-awaited holidays.”

As part of the campaign, Atome is also running a photo contest, encouraging consumers to share their best travel moments captured during their past travel adventures. The aim of the contest is to curate a ‘diverse lens’ of travel experiences through the perspective of different travellers in Asia, and in turn, inspire others on how they want to plan their next travels. 

The top prize is a S$14,000 travel package, and the first and second runner-ups will each win a round-trip to Japan for two. An additional 20 consumers will also be selected to win a S$35 travel voucher from Atome. 

The contest is open to residents based in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. To participate in the contest, consumers must download the Atome app, follow its Instagram account, and post their best travel photo on Instagram with the hashtag, #OwnYourAdventure, in the caption. Users must also tag a friend on the post. 

Judging the photo submissions will be Atome and travel photographer, Yik Keat. Tripadvisor, global travel guidance platform, joins the campaign as a content partner, providing guidance and inspiration to travellers as they plan their next adventure.

Sarah Mathews, group head of media partnerships for APAC at Tripadvisor, said, “We are so excited to be working with Atome, encouraging travellers to join such a fun travel campaign. As the world’s largest travel guidance platform, we love campaigns that inspire travellers to get to travel, [explore] the world again, [and] [discover] the good out there.” 

Manila, Philippines – Buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform Atome has partnered with global financial services company Mastercard to launch the Atome Card in the Philippines, offering Filipino consumers a new way to pay with credit. 

The Atome Card provides cardholders with an Atome line of credit that can be used to pay online and in-store retailers by simply presenting their Atome Card during check-out. It offers no annual fees, sign-up fees or other hidden charges, easy application on mobile, payment flexibility, virtual or physical card can be used anywhere Mastercard is accepted, and easy view/manage of payment schedule.

At launch, consumers in the Philippines can register their interest for the Atome Card with one click, directly via the latest version of the Atome app, or via the Early Bird registration in the Atome website. Selected consumers from the Early Bird phase will receive an email inviting them to apply for the Atome Card.

Magic Tang, Atome’s payment partnerships director, commented, “The launch of the Atome Card marks an exciting new chapter for Atome, as it’s the first financial service we offer apart from Buy Now, Pay Later. With no annual fees and minimum income requirements, the Atome Card will give many underserved segments in the Philippines access to a flexible credit facility, the first such innovative solution across the region with more markets to come in the next few months.”

Meanwhile, Simon Calasanz, Mastercard’s country manager for the Philippines, said that Mastercard is delighted to partner with Atome on this innovative product that will contribute to building a cash-lite society and drive financial inclusivity by serving more than 70% of Filipinos who are unbanked or underbanked and do not qualify for credit cards.

“The Atome Card will enable cardholders with choice, control and flexibility to manage their finances and is available to use anywhere Mastercard is accepted. For merchants, this also means increased sales and better conversion rates, extending the benefits of digital commerce to more consumers and businesses in the Philippines,” he added.

In July 2022, Atome partnered with local-based online payment processing platform PayMongo to expand BNPL acceptance among merchants in the country. The partnership will enable PayMongo’s over 10,000 merchant network in the Philippines to offer their customers flexible deferred payment options, with no additional annual or service fees as an alternative checkout payment option.

Manila, Philippines – Local-based online payment processing platform PayMongo and buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform Atome have teamed up to expand BNPL acceptance among merchants in the country.

Through the partnership, it will enable PayMongo’s over 10,000 merchant network in the Philippines to offer their customers flexible deferred payment options, with no additional annual or service fees as an alternative checkout payment option.

Miel Pahati, head of partnerships at PayMongo, said, “Our partnership with Atome enables our merchants to offer a seamless and flexible payment checkout experience. With the growing trend towards digital payments and the appeal of zero-interest payment options, especially among digital-native customers, we’re confident this partnership will help our merchants grow sales and delight both new and returning customers.”

Meanwhile, Jeremy Wong, head of strategic partnerships at Atome, commented, “More than ever, consumers want choice, flexibility and a more personalised shopping and payment experience. Our partnership with PayMongo in the Philippines will accelerate the acceptance of flexible deferred payment options, and will support thousands of merchants in enabling a superior, secure checkout experience for consumers, in-store and online. This, in turn, will optimise customer conversion, increase average orders and repeat sales.”

As part of the partnership, local home appliance store Anson’s will be one of the first to adopt Atome payments via PayMongo.

Kristoffer Cheng, e-commerce and digital marketing manager at Anson’s, said, “Setting up Atome as a buy now, pay later option in our website was a quick and easy experience because PayMongo makes integration seamless.” 

Singapore – Dorsett Hospitality International, the hotel group in Asia, has announced its partnership with Atome, the fast-leading ‘buy now pay later’ platform in the region, to offer installation payment options to its guests. The option will be available to guests prior to arrival and upon checkout across its hotels in three markets; Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong.

Under the partnership, guests can pay for their accommodations in three zero interest payments with no additional charges or service fees by selecting Atome as a payment option at the hotel front office or upon receiving Dorsett Hotels’ confirmation email for reservations prior to arrival. To pay, users first have to download Atome’s app and register an account, select Atome as the checkout payment option either three days before arrival or upon checking out at the front desk.

Anita Chan, senior vice president of global brand marketing at Dorsett Hospitality International, said, “At Dorsett Hospitality International it has always been important to us to make travel as easy and accessible as possible. As the first hotel group to partner with Atome regionally in Malaysia, Singapore, and Hong Kong, we hope the flexibility of a ‘buy now pay later’ solution will encourage and allow more of our guests to travel, enjoy staycations and, for our guests in Hong Kong, make quarantine more affordable.”

Meanwhile, William Yang, head of regional partnerships for APAC at Atome, said, “Outbound travel across the region, especially in Singapore and Malaysia, is rebounding rapidly. We are excited we can play our part in supporting this post-Covid-19 recovery and provide a much-needed boost to the recovery of the tourism and hospitality industry. In addition, guests can now use Atome upon checkout for longer, better stays in Dorsett Hospitality International’s hotels.”

Atome has also recently forayed its services for NFTs. Social fitness platform LIV3LY has recently partnered with the BNPL to introduce flexible instalment payment options for LIV3LY’s 1000 NFTs. 

Singapore – Social fitness platform LIV3LY has partnered with Atome, a Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) brand, to introduce flexible instalment payment options for LIV3LY’s 1000 NFTs (non-fungible tokens). 

This is the first kind of partnership in the Asia Pacific region where users can have the option to use a BNPL platform option to purchase NFTs. Atome is the first BNPL operator in Asia to partner with a merchant to enable the purchase of NFTs using buy now pay later payment options. 

In Q2 of 2022, LIV3LY launched a one-time exclusive release of 1000 NFTs targeted at fitness and lifestyle enthusiasts. These NFTs are a tradable digital bib that comes with perpetual real-world privileges such as shareable complimentary runs, access to private events and launches, front-row at races, VIP services at physical events and revenue share. 

CEO of LIV3LY, Jeffrey Foo, said, “As the pandemic measures loosen up, the conduct of more running events and sharing sessions of our NFTs will provide more knowledge and confidence to the mainstream market. Today’s technology allows us to revitalise and shape the future of the live events industry.”

As a game changer, LIV3LY expressed their excitement to embark on this journey with more than 300 thousand organic members within their community. “In this way, we can build on our user experience and increase customer loyalty in the long run,” said Foo.

Customers who purchase LIV3LY’s NFTs, will also have access to varying privileges and benefits depending on the tier of the NFT purchased. As of May 2022, more than 20 per cent of the 1000 NFTs have already been bought. Through LIV3LY’s partnership with Atome, NFT buyers will now be able to split their purchases into deferred zero-interest instalments by checking out with Atome. To pay, users first have to download Atome’s app and register an account, before selecting Atome as the payment method. 

Regional Head of Commercial at Atome, William Yang, said, “We are thrilled to partner with LIV3LY, a leading social fitness company which has organised many iconic live events in the region and international runs. We want to be able to offer more payment options for digital assets as the world and also our consumers become more familiar with the growing metaverse and Web3. This partnership enables LIV3LY’s customers to purchase the running-related NFTs through our flexible payment options, making NFTs more affordable to buyers looking to engage in the metaverse.” 

Buy now pay later is expected to be Asia’s fastest growing online payment method by 2025. Between 2021 and 2025, buy now pay later arrangements are expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40% and double their share of transaction value from 4% to 8%, according to the 2022 Global Payments Report by Worldpay from FIS.

Atome also plans to announce more NFT-related partnerships in the coming months this year.

Singapore – SHOPLINE, the global smart commerce platform, has announced a regional partnership with buy now pay later platform Atome, allowing online businesses to accept Atome’s buy-now-pay-later function as a payment option.

With the new service, merchants in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, and Taiwan will be able to better cater their younger customers. The payment solution consists of three zero-interest instalments, including the first one at the point of purchase and two over time with no annual fees or service fees. It also translates to a higher conversion rate, order value and customer retention, especially for higher-priced products.

Joshua Qiao, General Manager, SHOPLINE Cross Border, said BNPL has taken off for a new generation of consumers and is expected to grow to US$1.2 Trillion in 2024. In the bid to optimise customer experiences, the partnership with Atome seeks to provide an effective digital experience that revolutionises the way their merchants serve their customers. Connecting payments to specific purchases over a period of time gives the power back to consumers as it changes the perception of debt and enables them to purchase big ticket items without the interest fees.

“The partnership with Atome offers the flexibility, transparency and seamless customer experience that resonates with younger consumers who are increasingly judicious with the debts that they take on, favouring BNPL options over credit card and other forms of payments. This is synonymous with SHOPLINE’s mission to continually offer best in class solutions for our merchants to build autonomous, powerful and thriving omnichannel brands,” Qiao said.

While BNPL is becoming more popular among all age groups, millennials and Gen Z consumers who appreciate the convenience of instalment payment option over traditional bank or credit card options have shown the highest growth in adoption. 

Meanwhile, Atome’s Regional Head of Strategic Partnership Jeremy Wong, commented, “More than ever, young consumers today want flexibility, transparency and a better, more personalised shopping and payment experience.”

Wong added, “Our regional partnership with SHOPLINE will support thousands of merchants across Greater China and Southeast Asia in enabling a superior, secure Buy Now, Pay Later checkout experience for consumers, both in-store and online. This in turn will improve customer conversion, increase average orders and repeat sales.” 

After launching in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan, SHOPLINE plans to expand the strategic partnership with Atome later this year to include other Asian markets such as Indonesia.