The rise of one-click payments in SEA

The Top Up is Tech in Asia’s free newsletter that breaks down the biggest stories and trends in fintech. [Read from your browser]( The Top Up 💵 Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every Wednesday via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in fintech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here](. Written by Melissa Goh Fintech Journalist Hello {NAME} I’ve gone down a rabbit hole of watching YouTube videos on minimalism lately. One of its tenets is the [30/30 rule]( If something you want to purchase costs more than US$30, ask yourself if you can do without it for the next 30 hours. After which, reassess your need for it: Will your life truly be better off owning this new item? (Items that cost above US$100 warrant a longer, 30-day wait.) Of course, I’m no minimalist. But that rule is one thing I’ve tried to put into practice recently, and not surprisingly, I’ve saved myself a number of wasteful purchases and a fair bit of money, too. Buying and splurging on new items is often more emotional than we realize. That’s why it’s no surprise that online retailers are zeroing in on smoothening the checkout process: The easier and faster it is to purchase, the less room and time there is for customers to think twice. If all it took was a single tap of the finger to buy something online (no keying in of card details, no need to check and reenter personal particulars and mailing addresses), we’d all be buying a whole lot more. This week’s big story by Mike looks at the rise of one-click payments in Southeast Asia - yes, the same feature that Amazon patented and popularized. Unlike the US, one-click checkouts aren’t as commonplace in this part of the world yet, though there are early signs that the pieces are starting to come together. -- Melissa THE BIG STORY  1️⃣ [2022: A big year for one-click payments in SEA?]( Image credit: Timmy Loen Checking out in one click, a method first patented and popularized by Amazon, could soon become more common in Southeast Asia. TRENDING NEWS Check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of Asia’s fintech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [Bank Jago sees first profits since Gojek-backed management took over]( After recording quarterly losses for the past six years, the Indonesia-based digital bank hit a milestone in the third quarter of 2021, recording US$1 million in net profit. This resulted from a surge in Jago’s loans business and an increase in the number of customer current and savings accounts. The digital bank saw its first profits two years after the new management, backed by Gojek, took over the company. Why it matters: The integration with Gojek gives Jago access to a ready customer base by allowing users of the super app to debit cash directly from their Jago bank accounts while making payments through Gojek. Eventually, users will also be able to [open bank accounts and borrow money]( through the Gojek app. Aside from Gojek, Jago has partnered with investment app Bibit to allow the bank’s customers to buy mutual funds products. The digital bank has also tied up with peer-to-peer lending firms including Akulaku, Kredit Pintar, and Modal Rakyat. Other partnerships with insurance, payment, and investment platforms are in the works. With Grab also [reportedly scouting]( potential partnerships with several financial institutions in Indonesia, the heat is on for the country’s digital banks. We broke down Southeast Asia’s digital banking players in [this landscape story](. 2️⃣ [Grab Financial expands offerings to SMBs in ecommerce push]( Grab Financial Group (GFG), the fintech arm of Grab, has rolled out GrabMerchant Commerce, a platform that helps small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) to build online web stores on the Grab app. A pilot program in May saw over 500 merchants across industries sign up. GFG says that merchants who participated in the program have increased their sales by 6x on average since they were onboarded to the platform. GFG has also partnered with leading regional payment gateways such as 2C2P, AsiaPay, and Razer Merchant Services to accelerate the usage of GrabPay and its PayLater solution by SMBs. Why it matters: The move marks yet another step for Grab toward building out its ecommerce capabilities beyond its core group of consumers and existing GrabPay merchants, majority of whom hail from the food and beverage sector. (Food delivery was Grab’s [largest segment and had the highest contribution to its revenue]( in 2020.) In June, Grab also launched a shopping icon on its landing page that facilitates the discovery of merchants across fashion, beauty, electronics, and home goods. Checkouts are completed on the merchants’ own platforms. A tie up with Stripe announced in June allows Grab to process transactions that take place outside of the superapp’s ecosystem, such as those on other ecommerce sites. We discussed why the partnership matters [here](. 3️⃣ [SEC gets path to rein in stablecoins as US weighs new rules]( The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will have significant authority over tokens like Tether, according to Bloomberg, citing a report by the Treasury Department and other agencies that is expected to be published this week. US regulators are also pushing for legislation to be passed for stablecoins to be regulated like bank deposits. SEC chair Gary Gensler previously said that some stablecoins look similar to money-market mutual funds because they sometimes invest in corporate bonds and other assets - which means stablecoins should have similar regulatory oversight to those funds.. Why it matters: The recommendations will give the SEC greater power over policing cryptocurrencies, a sign that the government will take on a more active role in the US$131 billion market going forward. While some stablecoin executives support bank-like regulation, other industry players are against heightened government oversight over such digital assets. Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase has [publicly spoken]( out against what it deems as unfair enforcement action against the company despite its best efforts to “proactively” engage the regulator. STARTUP WATCH 1️⃣ Clear - [​​Stripe backs $75m round of Indian tax filing, invoicing startup]( [Clear]( a software-as-a-service firm, said it has added more than 3,000 large enterprises and grown its user base by 5x in the last 18 months. Previously known as ClearTax, the startup provides enterprises with solutions for income tax filing, invoicing, and compliance for goods and services tax, among other services.  2️⃣ XanPool - [Hong Kong crypto firm wins $27m fundraise]( Established in 2019, [XanPool]( is a fiat-to-crypto platform that provides exchanges, wallets, and other cryptocurrency businesses with liquidity and software, with its services being used across 12 countries in Asia. The firm also runs XanPay, a payment gateway for small and medium-sized enterprises operating across the region. That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here.]( Not your cup of tea? 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