The initiative will begin commercially in mid-2018 between Singapore and Thailand, where the Singapore telco and partner Advanced Info Service (AIS) have obtained regulatory approval, the company claims. The service is targeted at travellers and SMEs, according to Singtel.
More than that, Singtel plans to expand the platform to include mobile wallets provided by associates such as those in the Philippines, India and Indonesia, where they are the biggest mobile operators in their markets, from the second half of this year.
The network operator is seeking to become a regional mobile wallet platform as Asian consumers increasingly opt for digital payments and rely less on cash. Asia is an important market for digital payments where non-banks such as Ant Financial Services, Tencent Holdings and Grab vie for business with financial services companies such as DBS Group Holdings, South-east Asias largest lender.
Singtel currently has more than 50 million registered users of mobile wallets.
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