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Southeast Asia’s Largest Telecom Operator Expands Mobile Wallet Services to Japan

Southeast Asia’s Largest Telecom Operator Expands Mobile Wallet Services to Japan
The Nation | Singtel's VIA

Singapore's largest telecommunications carrier Singtel has expanded its VIA cross-border payments alliance to Japan.

VIA, the first cross-border mobile payment alliance in Asia in partnership with AIS, Thai digital bank Kasikornbank, and Boost Malaysia, is now also partnering with Tokyo-based mobile payment technology company NETSTARS, Singtel  announced on Monday (18/3).

According to Reuters, the partnership with NETSTARS will allow travelers to use their home mobile wallets on Singtel’s VIA network to pay digitally at 100,000 merchants, which span airports, shopping malls, food and beverage outlets, tourist attractions and transportation modes across Japan - a popular destination for Southeast Asians.

Singtel's cross-border payment alliance VIA expands to Japan. Image: Yahoo Finance
Singtel's cross-border payment alliance VIA expands to Japan. Image: Yahoo Finance

 

Singtel is keen to expand beyond its traditional carrier services into areas such as digital marketing, cybersecurity, mobile payments and video streaming.

Southeast Asia, where a chunk of the 650-million population is underbanked, is becoming a crowded market for mobile payments. Singtel wants to stand out by permitting users to be able to pay with their e-wallets outside their home country. 

Singtel plans to expand the mobile wallet alliance to India, the Philippines and Indonesia. 

Image: Asia Nikkei Review
Singapore's largest telecommunications carrier Singtel. Image: Asia Nikkei Review

 

"VIA’s steady expansion has taken it beyond our associate markets, and now beyond telco e-wallets and South-east Asia," said Arthur Lang, CEO of Singtel’s International Group to The Business Times.

Tsuyoshi Ri, CEO of Netstars, added in the statement, “We are delighted to join the VIA alliance and collaborate with  Singtel to welcome more mobile payment users from South-east Asia. Together we will bring convenience to both customers and stores as Netstars expands its store network.”

                                                                                          

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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