Singapore – Digital travel platform Agoda has partnered up with installment payment platform Atome in expanding their “buy now, pay later” scheme to Agoda’s payment options for accommodation bookings, initially offered for Singaporean and Malaysian customers.

Under the partnership, users can checkout their Agoda accommodation by selecting Atome on the checkout page. With 34,000 properties available on the Singapore and Malaysia markets, the partnership also hopes to expand the partnership to additional Southeast Asian (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam) markets as well as Hong Kong and Taiwan by 2021.

“We are always looking for innovative ways to help more people access travel, using tech to simplify the search, booking and payment processes. The launch of our instalment payment offering with Atome will enable Singaporean and Malaysian travellers who might have previously found it inconvenient to pay for their booking in one lump sum to spread the costs over multiple payments by choosing to pay with Atome, without incurring additional costs,” said Darren Makarem, vice president of commercial finance at Agoda.

On the other hand, David Chen, CEO of Atome (pictured) said, “This marks the start of a truly exciting regional partnership with Agoda. Travel and tourism supports so many businesses, livelihoods and economies across Asia. We’re truly humbled to play our part in helping to boost domestic tourism by introducing buy now, pay later payment flexibility and convenience on the Agoda platform today. 

He also added, “As more borders in Asia re-open for travel in 2021, our regional partnership will allow even more Agoda travellers to enjoy this payment convenience and flexibility at checkout, improving the customer experience.”

The partnership starts on December 21 for the Singaporean and Malaysian market.

Singapore – French prestige beauty company Sephora in Singapore has now partnered with buy now-pay later service Atome, to allow customers flexible payment options on their e-commerce website, mobile app, and brick & mortar stores.

For Alia Gogi, Sephora Asia’s president, the recent move ensures safer payment options for the consumers.

“The shopping behavior and profile of Sephora customers has evolved in the last few years, but especially so this year. They now not only expect a secure, seamless, and easy payment experience but also flexibility and choice in how they shop and pay for their beauty products online, on mobile, and in-stores.”

She added, ”We’re delighted to partner with Atome in introducing ‘buy now pay later’ flexible payment options to first our Singapore — and later Malaysian — customers, enhancing their shopping experience both online and in our stores.”

Alia Gogi and David Chen
(Left) Alia Gogi, President of Sephora Asia; (Right) David Chen, CEO of Atome

David Chen, CEO of Atome, commented, “We’re really humbled to partner Sephora, a global brand that is not only a leader in beauty and retail, but is also constantly evolving and staying on the forefront of the latest consumer shopping behaviors and payment trends. We’re thrilled to be able to offer Sephora customers in Singapore, and later Malaysia, a safe, easy, and flexible payment experience, especially as we enter the festive end-of-year shopping season.”

Atome is available on the App Store and on Google Play.

Singapore – Singapore home retailer IUIGA has partnered with buy now pay later platform Atome to offer its consumers flexible payment options across their online and brick-and-mortar stores.

Paying through Atome allows customers to spread the total cost of their bill into three equal payments over time with zero interest, hidden charges or service fees

To celebrate the launch of the partnership, IUIGA will be having a storewide “Atome Exclusive Day” on 26 September, where all transactions paid via Atome online and offline will get a 20 percent off with a minimum spend of $40.

IUIGA co-founder Jaslyn Chan said, “We’re delighted to partner Atome in offering our customers choice, convenience, and flexibility in how they want to pay. We believe in making quality, premium products at fair, transparent prices, and this partnership helps increase the affordability of our products, particularly for our Gen Z and millennial customers. We also have aggressive plans to grow our brand in Indonesia, where Atome already has an active presence, so we’re really looking forward to this partnership.”

Meanwhile, David Chen, chief executive officer of Atome said, “In IUIGA, we found a like-minded partner who understood the value we can bring in helping them grow their business, both online and across their brick-and-mortar outlets. Working with our partners, we’ve seen time and again how introducing Atome as a payment option increases conversion and cart sizes, while also growing new consumer segments.”

Atome has been partnering with online and offline retailers since it launched its platform in 2019. IUIGA on the other hand opened its first store at shopping mall TripleOne Somerset. It is known for its direct-to-consumer, affordable, and minimalist lifestyle products ranging from home and kitchen to apparel and electronics.