Installment Inc, a Taiwanese financial technology (fintech) start-up, yesterday outlined plans to bring its person-to-person mobile payment app to the Taiwanese and global markets next year.
The company is aiming to tap into the nascent market for P2P payments with its app, INSTO, it said at a launch event in Taipei.
“What sets INSTO apart from other offerings is the capability to offer automated recurring payments as well as installment payment plans,” Installment founder and chief operating officer Bruce Chen (陳仁彬) said.
“We are tapping into unknown territories because prospects are slim in the highly competitive and saturated payments market dominated by giants such as PayPal,” Chen said.
The app’s headline features are backed by the firm’s proprietary actuarial analysis tool, which determines the risk profile of each client by accessing the credit information on them gathered by Experian Information Solutions Inc, Chen said.
By bringing installment payments to products and services not covered by major banks and credit cards, INSTO will allow consumers to afford almost any big-ticket item, he said.
INSTO’s automated payments are best used to bring convenience to recurring person-to-person payments, in particular for services such as gardening or painting lessons.
Chen said that INSTO recorded about US$250,000 during its beta testing period this year in the US.
In Taiwan, the company is exploring collaborations with Taishin International Bank (台新銀行) to add INSTO capabilities to the bank’s Richart digital banking app, Chen said.
Chen also said that he is in talks with China Development Industrial Bank (中華開發工銀) to have it serve as INSTO’s processing bank so that the app can operate more independently.
Chen said that CTBC Bank Co (中國信託銀行) was the first bank to seek investment opportunities with INSTO, but it is more focused on bringing the feature to its footholds in Southeast Asian markets, where prospects are brighter and interest rates average as high as 30 to 40 percent.
After receiving US$1.9 million from Silicon Valley investors last year, the company recently received US$600,000 in pre-series A funding from Systex Corp (精誠資訊), Chen said.
INSTO is going to be launched in the US, where it conducted beta testing, and where it has been included in an accelerator program by French telecom firm Orange, which hopes to offer the app’s features in its upcoming Internet banking venture, Orange Bank, he said.
In related news, Carousell, a mobile classified ad app provider, yesterday said its Taiwanese operation has become the second-largest after Singapore, thanks to more than 10 million product listings put up by its active members.
Singapore-based Carousell is an online marketplace that has expanded to other locations, including Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Australia.
Celebrating its second year in Taiwan, Carousell cofounder and chief executive Marcus Tan (陳翊偉) said that consumer electronics and lifestyle goods are the platform’s most frequently traded items.
Its users in Taiwan have sold more than 10,000 used iPhones this year, he said.
“Getting your product for sale on the Internet takes time and a lot of hassle, but with the prevalence of mobile usage, you can easily snap a picture on your phone and have the product ready for trade in just 30 seconds,” Tan said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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