SINGAPORE (July 25): Singtel’s cross-border mobile payment alliance VIA has launched in Japan, just ahead of the Olympics to be held in Tokyo next year.
See: Singtel's cross-border payment alliance VIA expands to Japan
As a start, merchants at Haneda Airport International Terminal can now accept QR code payments from tourists on VIA. Japan-based multi-payment aggregator NETSTARS – the firm that introduced WeChat Pay into Japan in 2015 – is the participating network enabling payments through the VIA alliance.
Over the coming year, VIA will expand into the rest of Tokyo and other popular tourist destinations such as Osaka, Kyoto and Hokkaido. Acceptance points will include convenience stores, restaurants and department stores.
The alliance currently counts Singtel’s Dash and AIS GLOBAL Pay among its member mobile wallets. The tie-up will enable tourists from Singapore and Thailand to shop and dine across Japan using QR code payments in their local currency at competitive exchange rates.
“Japan is one of the most popular destinations for tourists from the region and we’re excited to be expanding VIA here,” says Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group. “This is a big step in further bridging the digital economies of Japan and Southeast Asia, facilitating travel for our customers and connecting Japanese merchants to more consumers.”
Japan has seen robust growth in tourist numbers from Southeast Asia in recent years. In 2018, there were over 3.3 million arrivals from Southeast Asia, an increase of 14% year-on-year.
Lang adds that Singtel will be announcing more mobile wallets joining the VIA alliance in the coming months.
Launched in October last year, the VIA alliance is expected to expand to include Thailand’s Kasikornbank’s K Plus, Axiata Digital’s Boost Malaysia and Indonesia’s LinkAja. This will see the alliance grow to represent some 40 million mobile wallet users and 2.1 million merchants across Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan.
Singtel says it plans to expand the alliance to include its other regional associates as well as non-telcos.
“Merchants really appreciate the ease and convenience of digital payments, especially when transacting with overseas customers who may be unfamiliar with local currency,” says Tsuyoshi Ri, CEO of NETSTARS.
“The VIA alliance is the perfect partner for NETSTARS to open our merchants to a much larger consumer base, one that will continue to grow exponentially as the alliance expands,” he adds.
As at 2.49pm, shares in Singtel are trading flat at $3.46.
