Tag: payment platform

Singapore – Instarem, a cross-border payments platform, has launched a new brand identity, as well as a new mobile application catered to users in Singapore.

The rebrand involves a new logo, redesigned website, as well as the launching of a consumer debit card called ‘Amaze’ for users within the year.

With the new rebrand, Instarem seeks to go beyond just enhancing consumer remittances globally, to move towards being the change-driver for the complexities around global payments – empowering its customers to do more with their money in an intuitive, transparent, and cost-effective manner.

According to Yogesh Sangle, global head of Instarem, Instarem’s rebrand aligns with the new consumer initiatives to be rolled out in Singapore in coming months, as the company moves beyond digital remittances to becoming an all-in-one app for consumers.

“We see the future of Instarem as becoming an essential part of our customers’ everyday lives, offering them the most convenient option for money transfers. Our new identity reflects our belief that money should not be disconnected – it should be simple – and our enhanced offerings bring this belief to life. Our new look better represents who we are today – current, innovative, and global,” Sangle stated.

He added, “Our new mobile app provides increased usability for Singapore users that makes it easier for them to navigate and manage their transfers from anywhere in the world. Singapore customers can also expect a new and improved Instarem experience through the launch of a consumer debit card, which allows them to consolidate all their spendings in one.”

Instarem currently operates in six continents and over 100 markets, including markets in APAC such as Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and India.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – Merchant commerce platform Pine Labs has announced that it will be making its Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) feature in Malaysia, following the foray of its subsidiary Pine Payment Solutions, a payment platform in the country and the success of its offline BNPL solution in India.

The expansion comes at an interesting time when there is pent-up demand among consumers after a prolonged period of lockdown; consumers want easier access to credit and merchants are looking for newer ways to revive sales.

Pine Labs is providing a tech-first offline payments solution where on a single terminal, multiple credit issuers can make BNPL offers to customers. 

Pine Labs’ BNPL launch in Malaysia will further accelerate digital payments adoption in the country and make it possible for merchants to sell more in this tough business environment post the pandemic.

Some of the available banks in the platform include CIMB Bank, AmBank, HSBC Bank, AFFIN BANK, and RHB Bank. 

“It is an excellent product and a win-win proposition for everyone involved including consumers who get affordable buying options, merchants who are getting an enticing proposition to woo customers back to the stores and boost their sales, and banks and brands who get to build their brand loyalty,” said Kush Mehra, chief business officer at Pine Labs.

He also mentioned that their recent partnership with financial services Mastercard will enable them to expand across other markets.

The company has ambitious plans as well to launch BNPL in the rest of the Southeast Asia markets. Late last year, Pine Labs had announced its intent to launch an integrated pay later installment solution in partnership with Mastercard to markets like Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia.

Manila, Philippines – Xendit, the Indonesian-based fintech, has partnered with Philippine-based ‘buy now, pay later’ solutions BillEase in bringing cardless installment options in the Philippines through their new joint solution ‘PayLater’ that allows merchants to offer convenient, card-free installments where the majority of shoppers remain cardless or unbanked.

Xendit, which allows merchants to accept payments online, makes it easier for merchants to provide an affordable and transparent installment option at checkout through a single integration. This means Xendit’s merchants can now add BillEase as a payment option. By offering BillEase at checkout, merchants can give their customers the option to split the cost of their purchases into installments either monthly or bi-weekly with no hidden fees.

Xendit merchants that offer BillEase can allow customers to pay for their purchases online in monthly installments and pay the app over a period of three, six, nine, or 12 months with monthly interest rates between 0 to 3.49%. Merchants can also choose to offer 0 percent annual percentage rate (APR). For example, a PHP 18,000 purchase would only cost PHP 2,500 over 6 months at 0% APR.

Furthermore, the partnership with BillEase allows merchants to connect to Xendit’s API and enable other BillEase’s payment services, namely, ‘Pay in Installments’ which enable customers to enjoy fully-financed purchases and spread payments over time at a zero-to-low interest rate, and ‘Pay with Down Payment’ where customers can pay 1/3 upfront and pay the rest in installments.

“Shoppers are increasingly looking for alternative ways to pay, and merchants who offer flexible payment options can rapidly improve their conversion rates and increase average order value. We’re excited to partner with Xendit to help Filipino merchants grow more by removing unnecessary challenges customers face at checkout, especially for those who are unable to use credit and debit cards,” said Georg Steiger, co-founder and CEO of First Digital Finance Corporation, the fintech behind BillEase.

Yang Yang Zhang, managing director of Xendit Philippines said their partnership aligns with their company’s mission to provide merchants with various payment options to allow their business to grow.

“Partnering with BillEase is crucial as the demand for installment solutions has grown in recent years, partly fueled by the pandemic. Additionally, merchants also see a huge demand from their consumers for this type of payment option. That’s why we’re excited to bring our PayLater solution to online retailers in the country,” Zhang stated.

Sydney, Australia – Hong Kong-headquartered digital payment service provider and technology vendor AsiaPay has announced that it will further expand its payment platform in Australia and New Zealand thanks to a new partnership with Fat Zebra.

Similarly a payment platform, Fat Zebra is based in Australia and is said to be currently in partnership with over 25,000 merchants across the globe.

As part of the partnership, AsiaPay will leverage Fat Zebra’s processing infrastructure to access more Australian acquiring networks and domestic schemes, creating secure, seamless payments for its digital merchants across Australia and New Zealand.

Welcoming the announcement, AsiaPay Founder and CEO Joseph Chan said, “We are excited to partner with Fat Zebra and launch into Australia and New Zealand further. As part of international business expansion strategy, we identified the need for local experts to support in-market, definitely it will help AsiaPay accelerate our growth in Australia and New Zealand, while still allowing us full control and flexibility to create the digital payment values to merchants and best customer payment experience,” said Mr. Chan.

Meanwhile, Fat Zebra CEO Pred Dragila said Fat Zebra is proud to partner with AsiaPay.

“At Fat Zebra, we focus on modernising payments and giving our partners local market access through a single global platform,” said Dragila.

“Our aim is to remove the barriers to entry for our customers by giving them speed to market, the control that they need, and the optionality that they want. AsiaPay is a great trusted digital payment platform covering most of the Asian market and we’re excited to help them grow their international footprint. his partnership allows them to hit the ground running and offer its customers instant access to this region,” added Dragila.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – AirAsia’s payment platform BigPay has announced a new Bills Payment feature which allows users of the app to pay to more than 20 billers, ranging from telecommunication providers to energy providers.

Some of these billers include Astro, Celcom, Air Selangor, Sabah Electricity, and Sarawak Energy Berhad. 

With the new feature, billers are also enabled to set payment reminders, save transaction details and even split bills from one payment platform. 

“We are thrilled to launch our financial marketplace with Bill Payments. This brings us one step closer to becoming a one-stop solution for our users’ financial needs. 2021 will be an exciting year for BigPay as we have a pipeline of new products and features to be rolled out including digital loans, insurance, and wealth management. We can’t wait to bring all of this to our growing community,” said Salim Dhanani, co-founder of BigPay.

To access the Bill Payments feature on the BigPay app, users can simply click on the ‘Payment’ option from the main screen, select the preferred biller and insert the requested details. After confirming the transaction with a secure PIN, the user’s account will be debited. 

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.