Tag: retail payments

  • Bank Indonesia Issues 32,457 Domestic Credit Cards in First Month

    Bank Indonesia Issues 32,457 Domestic Credit Cards in First Month

    Indonesian commercial lenders issued and activated 32,457 domestic credit cards in the first four weeks following the system’s retail debut. The figures, confirmed by Bank Indonesia Governor Destry Damayanti in Jakarta on September 24, 2026, track adoption since the retail tier went live on August 17.

    Total spending across the new network reached Rp18.7 billion over 38,800 transactions. Average ticket size stood at Rp482,000, pointing to everyday retail purchases rather than high-value consumer financing.

    Transaction Volume and Merchant Spend

    The card, known locally as Kartu Kredit Indonesia (KKI), operates in its first phase as a virtual credit line linked directly to the national QRIS standard. Shoppers scan standard merchant QR codes at checkouts, drawing down an unsecured credit balance through their standard mobile banking application rather than a deposit account.

    Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Filianingsih Hendarta reported that nearly 8,000 individual cardholders have executed live purchases across the initial network. The difference between issued cards and active spenders highlights the early onboarding curve as retail customers set up digital limits inside existing mobile banking apps.

    Bank Distribution and Market Share

    Private lender PT Bank Central Asia accounts for the bulk of early issuance, logging roughly 28,000 cardholders during the opening month. State-owned PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia and private lender PT Bank Permata follow at a distance, each recording around 1,500 active users.

    Five other payment service providers make up the initial implementation cohort: Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia, CIMB Niaga, Bank Mega, and Bank Syariah Indonesia. For retail merchants across tier-one cities, the domestic scheme reduces dependence on foreign card networks while plugging directly into existing QR checkout hardware and printed counter placards.

    Sharia Options and Technical Integration

    Participating lenders are structuring distinct product variants to capture specific consumer segments. Bank Syariah Indonesia is developing Sharia-compliant financing structures to offer non-interest credit lines over the central switch.

    Local retailers benefit from standardized merchant discount rates tied to the domestic clearing infrastructure. By channelling unsecured revolving credit through QRIS rails, physical merchants avoid procuring separate point-of-sale terminals to accept credit payments from everyday shoppers.

    E-Commerce and Physical Card Rollout

    The central bank launched the KKI framework initially for government procurement before expanding the architecture to retail consumers on August 17, 2026. The shift forms part of a broader push to retain domestic transaction fees inside the national clearing ecosystem while expanding consumer credit access outside traditional cardholder demographics.

    Bank Indonesia is executing the consumer rollout across three distinct phases. The current phase covers QRIS-linked digital cards inside banking applications. Phase two will expand the network to online e-commerce checkout gateways, while the third phase will introduce physical cards for merchants without digital scanning terminals.

  • ShardLab Backs StoreHub to Roll Out Payment-Linked Merchant Rewards

    ShardLab Backs StoreHub to Roll Out Payment-Linked Merchant Rewards

    Singapore-based venture studio ShardLab has made an undisclosed strategic investment in StoreHub to build payment-linked rewards products across Southeast Asia, the companies said on Wednesday.

    The partnership gives ShardLab direct access to StoreHub’s network of more than 20,000 merchant locations across Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan, which together process over 200 million transactions worth roughly US$3.5 billion annually.

    Alongside the equity investment, the two firms will establish a joint venture to build consumer payment and loyalty software. The products aim to tie merchant promotions directly to payment processing rather than relying on separate stamp cards or third-party apps.

    Plugging loyalty into payment hardware

    ShardLab operates as the innovation arm of South Korean blockchain investment firm Hashed, established through a partnership with Thai financial group SCBX. The venture studio develops programmable loyalty systems designed to embed rewards rules directly into point-of-sale transactions.

    For small restaurants and boutique retailers, managing fragmented payment options, ranging from cash and bank transfers to QR codes and mobile wallets, often makes running structured loyalty programmes impractical. StoreHub sells cloud-based point-of-sale hardware and management software that consolidates sales, inventory and ordering for small businesses.

    StoreHub chief executive Wai Hong Fong said the joint venture is part of a broader push to automate merchant operations, including rebuilding the core platform around artificial intelligence tools to handle demand forecasting and staff scheduling.

    Distribution over experimental software

    Point-of-sale software providers across Southeast Asia are competing to control the merchant checkout counter. StoreHub contends with regional competitors including Singapore-based Qashier and Oddle, Indonesia’s iSeller, and global platforms such as Block and Lightspeed.

    While blockchain and Web3 developers have spent years running digital loyalty pilots, most failed to scale because they required separate consumer onboarding or complicated checkout steps. Tying reward issuance directly to StoreHub’s existing register hardware removes friction for both shop staff and shoppers during peak business hours.

    The joint venture partners plan to roll out their first joint payment and rewards features in select Southeast Asian markets before expanding across StoreHub’s regional store network.