| | 9 MARCH - 2020started implementing national QR code standards known as Bharat QR, SGQR, DuitNow QR, and QRIS respectively to allow payments interoperability on the standardized QR format.In Singapore, Fave is already part of SGQR to be able to accept payments from other e-wallet users, and Fave also partners with Alipay to allow inbound Chinese tourists to make payments to Fave's merchants. Meanwhile, unlike other e-wallets that require users to top-up or reload their wallet, Fave acts as payment aggregator that accepts payments from Visa, Master and Amex credit and debit cards linked and authorized on the app. Users in Singapore, Malaysia, and Indonesia can also link their GrabPay, Boost and OVO accounts respectively as their source of funds.Notwithstanding the benefits of interoperable and universal payments acceptance, one of the key issues experienced by merchants is that most of these new digital payments are not integrated to each other and consolidated to their existing payment ecosystem, hence requiring extra effort and time from the cashiers to manually verify and reconcile cash payments from cash registry, card payments from card terminals and mobile payments from the respective providers on a daily basis. The integration will certainly help merchants to be more operationally efficient in order for them to truly experience the value of digital payments.Making payments rewarding through value-added servicesSimilar to traditional banks which provide a collection of services from deposit accounts to credit cards, mortgages, investments and credit facilities, fintech companies could also offer a selection of value-added services to meet the real needs of their customers in helping them solve actual problems, especially when the market is so competitive right now that payment margins will be almost zero if not negative. In order to make payments more exciting and enticing for merchants and customers, Fave is offering a series of value-added services on its digital merchant platform to help merchants reach more users, get repeat customers, optimize employee productivity and grow their business.In order to support the adoption of mobile payments for merchants and customers, Fave enables its merchants to give cash back to customers to turn them into loyal and returning customers. Merchants are also allowed to boost their sales during non-peak hours by customizing cashback rates for selected periods of time. On top of that, businesses are able to acquire new customers by advertising and selling attractive deals to millions of users. Fave has also started digitalizing ordering and payments experience for F&B businesses by allowing customers to self-order and pay when dining at a restaurant or takeaway. By offering these services to merchants, Fave is able to generate more data to share meaningful insights to help merchants understand their customers better. Merchants are also able to unlock access to more services including financing to grow their business.Going cash-less before cashlessWhile the concept of digital payments isn't new, the journey towards a cashless society is a long one. With mobile payments booming in the market, cash is still king in most countries, especially developing ones and it is highly unlikely that cash will be phased out anytime soon for digital payments to be ubiquitous and exclusive. In fact, even Sweden being the most cashless country isn't 100% cash-free yet, it is simply less dependent on cash transactions than other countries.Let's go cash-less and accelerate the transition to the digital economy together! Khuan Yew Lee
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