Qoo10 Singapore announces integrated cashless payment and advertising model

Qoo10 Singapore, Asia’s online marketplace, has announced the integrated payment and advertising model QPay.

Source; Qoo10. Infographic showing the sequence of events to pay for an item with Qpay.

Qpay enables consumers to purchase items by scanning a QR code at the merchant’s brick-and-mortar store. Instead of paying the sticker price with cash, Qpay is integrated with the Qoo10 payment platform and activates Qoo10 discounts and loyalty rewards on their Qoo10 accounts when they check out. At the same time, merchants enjoy a low service fee and are able to support cashless payment methods such as credit cards through Qpay, Qoo10 said.

Unlike a typical payment gateway, Qpay empowers merchants with a payment platform option and also helps them to drive footfall to their physical stores. Qoo10 helps advertise the merchant’s items on the Qoo10 site, and visitors are then told to visit the merchant’s physical store to purchase them. This is aligned with Qoo10’s goal to bridge the gap between offline and online retailers. The service is targeted at traditional businesses and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) which have lacked the resources to keep up with changing digital expectations. The capability was embedded in Qoo10’s Seller Management (QSM) at end of last year, allowing Qoo10 to offer consumers Qpay with more than 1,200 merchants using Qpay at launch, Qoo10 said.

Scan the QR code to pay with Qpay.

“Payment systems are rapidly changing and increasing; what matters to us is how it benefits both merchants and consumers throughout the payment journey,” says HyunWook Cho, Country Manager of Qoo10 Singapore, who believes that the solution to cashless payment is not just developing another payment gateway but tapping on existing infrastructure to achieve the optimum cashless transaction.

The Singapore Red Cross adopted Qpay for their International Bazaar, raising funds for local humanitarian services on 23 September at Suntec Convention Centre. Attendees enjoyed a 5% discount for coupons purchased via Qpay and all proceeds will be donated to Singapore Red Cross. Qoo10 also provided advertising and marketing support on Qoo10’s site for the event.

Qoo10 also collaborated with eight merchants: Holiday Inn Hotel, Amara Hotel, and Bee Cheng Hiang for the Mid-Autumn Festival, integrating the Qpay system with their mooncake promotions from 23 September to 4 October 2017.

“Singapore is moving towards cashless payment mode. We need to keep ourselves up to the trend,” says Christopher Lee, Food and Beverage Manager from Holiday Inn Hotel, who said he expected Qpay to drive footfall to the hotel during the festival season.

Qoo10 showcases Qpay at its 10.10 Shopping Evolution event, which runs till 15 October.

Singapore-headquartered Qoo10 was launched in June 2010 and is now the No. 1 Singapore-based e-commerce platform (Alexa country rank No. 10), with 2.5 million registered users. Qoo10 is a joint venture established between founder Ku Young Bae and eBay, and has marketplaces in Japan, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong and mainland China.