JCB, Shopee unveil Southeast Asia collaboration

Shopee ties up with JCB to enhance payment options (Photo courtesy Shopee Vietnam)

HCM City - E-commerce platform Shopee has announced a tie-up with JCB International Company Ltd (JCBI) that will offer online merchants and shoppers enhanced payment options.

The partnership is launched in Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam and will be followed by Singapore and the Philippines in the coming months.

JCB will offer year-round and seasonal discounts and an additional safe and secure payment method for shoppers; Shopee will also promote participating stores that support JCB.

Yoshiki Kaneko, president and chief operating officer, JCB International Company, Ltd said: “JCB is proud to be working with Shopee as we further commit to supporting our customers in the fast-growing Southeast Asia region. In particular, as consumer shopping habits shift to online and businesses digitise their activities, we want to be able to further cater to these evolving needs.

“Over the past 10 years Southeast Asia has been a growth market for JCB, and we are confident that together with Shopee we can provide high-quality payments services for businesses and consumers, and continue to grow together with the region.”

Terence Pang, chief operating officer of Shopee, said: “We are honoured to be a strategic business partner with JCB. As homegrown brands, both Shopee and JCB are deeply committed to supporting local Southeast Asian markets and businesses.

“We believe that JCB will bring added value to our eco-system and look forward to accelerating the digital economy in Southeast Asia together.”

In Vietnam, from now until March 31 next year Shopee users will be offered special promotions when paying with JCB cards such as a discount of 15 percent.

JCB started its overseas expansion in 1981 by building acceptance of travel destinations for Japanese card members. Since the early 2000s it has focused on expanding to Asian markets.

It has more than doubled its card members in Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, the Philippines, Myanmar, and Singapore between 2017 and 2019.

A joint report by Google, Temasek and Bain & Company, found that the Southeast Asia internet economy soared to 100 billion USD in 2019 after more than tripling in size over the previous four years.

By 2025 it is expected to grow to 300 billion USD.