Shopline on boards Atome as payment solution

Global smart commerce platform Shopline is continuing its expansion as it has inked a regional deal with Atome, enabling online business owners to on board Atome's buy-now-pay-later function as a payment option.

The latest service addition will allow all merchants in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan to better cater to younger consumers. The payment solution consists of three zero-interest instalments, including the first one at the point of purchase and two over time. Shopline said it these consumers are increasingly turning to the buy-now-pay-later functions as an alternative to credit cards with high-interest rates. Moreover, this payment method empowers merchants to attract younger and more tech-savvy consumers. It also translates to a higher conversion rate, order value and customer retention, especially for higher-priced products

“Online retailers selling higher priced products such as electronics, designer clothing and furniture may benefit the most from the buy-now-pay-later solution as it allows for younger consumers the ability to budget and shop smarter over time instead of paying in full when they purchase these items. It helps retailers tap into a new customer demographic who are the emerging big spenders,” said Nick Gao, general manager, Shopline Hong Kong.

After launching in Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Taiwan, Shopline plans to expand the partnership with Atome later this year to include other Asian markets such as Indonesia.

Atome added that merchants who provide a buy-now-pay-later option have experienced an average 17% increase in order size and a 30% higher conversion rate during checkout, as well as repeat sales.

"Young consumers today want flexibility, transparency and a better, more personalised shopping and payment experience. Our regional partnership with Shopline will support thousands of merchants across Greater China and Southeast Asia in enabling a superior, secure buy-now-pay-later checkout experience for consumers, both in-store and online. This in turn will improve customer conversion, increase average orders and repeat sales,” said Jeremy Wong, Atome’s regional head of strategic partnership.

Shopline also cited the 2022 Global Payments Report conducted by Worldpay, saying that the buy-now-pay-later feature is projected to be the world’s fastest-growing payment method both online and in-store through 2025. The rise of this payment method takes place in the wake of COVID-19, with the increase in this payment method coming largely at the expense of credit cards, bank transfers, cash on delivery and prepaid cards.

Last week, Shopline also added Octopus as its latest payment method with an aim to capture opportunities from the new round of the consumption voucher scheme in Hong Kong. The platform said 37% of its consumers had used stored value facilities (SVFs) for payment in 2021, overtaking previously popular payment methods such as credit cards (21%) and bank transfers (13%). The shift of preference reflects that consumers are more intent on using stored value facilities as their priority. Therefore, the platform now accepts Octopus as a payment method, adding that merchants are able to connect to the Octopus payment interface after successfully creating an account through the Octopus App for Business.

Shopline has also rolled out a series of offers to attract more merchants to use the new payment method. For example, the platform will waive the fund transfer fee of the Octopus App for Business bank accounts and offer physical stores an Octopus Mobile POS for free. Merchants can also receive a HK$300 reward for a cumulated transaction amount of HK$3,000 or more during the first 30 days after opening the account.

Related articles
Shopline adds Octopus to payment method