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- ShardLab said it has made a strategic investment in Southeast Asian commerce and payments platform StoreHub and will develop a blockchain-based payments and rewards system.
- The companies said they plan to use a network of about 20,000 merchant locations to introduce stablecoin payments and personalized rewards in real-world retail settings and test user experience and commercial viability.
- StoreHub said it processes more than 200 million transactions annually worth about $3.5 billion, and plans to expand services around business models that prove effective.
Forecast Trend Report by Period
ShardLab, the fintech venture studio of Hashed, has made a strategic investment in Southeast Asian commerce and payments platform StoreHub and will work with the company to develop a blockchain-based payments and rewards system.
ShardLab said Aug. 24 that the companies will establish a joint venture to build the system using StoreHub’s network of about 20,000 merchant locations.
The venture marks ShardLab’s first application of blockchain-based financial technology it has tested in pilot programs to large-scale commercial operations. The companies plan to deploy stablecoin payments and personalized rewards in real-world retail settings to test user experience and commercial
Southeast Asia’s digital payments market is growing rapidly, supported by a young population and high mobile usage, even as access to traditional financial services remains relatively limited.
StoreHub’s offline merchant network will serve as core infrastructure for the project. The company has more than 20,000 merchant locations across four countries, including Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand, and processes more than 200 million transactions annually worth about $3.5 billion.
ShardLab has built up the technology through pilot projects including NFT voucher payments at major shopping malls in Thailand and stablecoin payments in Abu Dhabi. The companies said they plan to expand services around business models that prove effective, with detailed plans to be disclosed in stages in line with the service launch.
ShardLab Chief Executive Officer Kim Ho-jin said pilot projects had shown how next-generation payments and rewards technology can improve the consumer experience. The partnership will extend that model to a real-world merchant network of about 20,000 locations and create tangible value for both consumers and merchants, he said.
StoreHub Chief Executive Officer Wai Hong Fong said the company would combine the commerce infrastructure it has built across Asia over the past decade with the blockchain capabilities of ShardLab and Hashed. Services launched through the partnership will be evaluated based on whether they meaningfully help boost merchant sales.
Source: en.bloomingbit.io