Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes the unveiling of an eWallet payment service with Boost and Shell Malaysia. In addition, Countingup is teaming up with insurance solutions provider Hokodo in the U.K., and Grab is tapping into hotel reservation as well as video steaming offerings for users in the Philippines.
In Malaysia, Boost along with Shell Malaysia unveiled the availability of a payment service through an eWallet at Shell stations, Digital News Asia reported. Through the eWallet, which users can download through the Google Play Store for Android users or the App Store for iOS users, customers can make tap into payments and money transfers along with prepaid top ups, among other features. Mohd Khairil Abdullah, the chief executive of Boost parent company Axiata Digital Services Sdn Bhd, said per the report, “We are excited to play a leading role in turning Malaysia into a cashless society, in line with the Government’s ambitions.”
And, in the U.K., small business banking and accounting app Countingup is teaming up with insurance solutions provider Hokodo, according to reports. The tie-up is aimed to cut down on the risks small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) face from unpaid invoices as well as payments that are late. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), in one case, believes that late payments cause up to 50,000 closures of firms each year. Countingup Founder and CEO Tim Fouracre said, according to reports, “Hokodo’s solution is key in protecting the most vulnerable small business owners from running into cash flow problems through missed or late payments. We are delighted to be working with them to help stop that happening to entrepreneurs.”
And in the Philippines, users of Grab will soon be able to book hotel rooms through the company’s “Hotels” offering, ABS-CBN reported. Those customers will be able to make reservations from Booking.com and Agoda.com. And the offering comes as it was noted in the report that Southeast Asia’s outbound tourism is forecast to reach $115 billion by 2028. It also reported the app’s “Videos” tap will offer on-demand video streaming by the second quarter of 2019. As it stands, 80 percent of the population in Southeast Asia reportedly consumes videos through the web.