|
The app, called Dolfin, will include an
e-wallet function, digital lending platform, as well as
insurance and wealth management, the joint venture, JD Central
Fintech, said.
"We aim to have 400,000 users by the end of the year and 1.5
million next year," Chief Executive Rungruang Sukkirdkijpiboon,
said in an interview.
Siam Commercial Bank Pcl, Kasikornbank Pcl and Bangkok Bank Pcl
are partners and the Bank of Ayudhya will join later, he said
adding that the platform will help banks tailor insurance and
mutual fund products for its customers.
The announcement comes as Thai companies roll out financial
services partnerships with e-commerce platforms and ride-hailing
services.
Last week, the country's largest lender, Siam Commercial Bank,
announced a partnership to expand digital lending and payments
with Sea Thailand, a unit of Tencent-backed Sea Group.
Dolfin is able to process credit cards payments, the
government's e-payment system, PromptPay and also top up its
e-wallet, he said
A merchant version of the app will be rolled out next year for
small businesses and Central's mall tenants, Rungruang said,
adding that merchant data can be used to support bank loans.
JD Central Fintech is part of Central's $500 million joint
venture with China's second largest e-commerce platform JD.com
in Thailand, which also has a separate e-commerce unit that
competes with other online shopping platforms such as Alibaba's
Lazada and Sea Group's Shopee in Thailand, both of which have
digital wallets.
Central Group, owned by the billionaire Chirativat family, plans
to file for the listing of Central Retail Crop by the year-end.
Refinitiv IFR has pegged the IPO size at between $1 billion and
$2 billion.
(Reporting by Chayut Setboonsarng, editing by Louise Heavens)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.] Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|
|
