Powered by innovative solutions, DeeMoney is on course to achieve its vision of being the leading payment gateway in Thailand
As the world becomes increasingly borderless through globalisation, the surge in demand for secure and seamless cross-border payments is rapidly increasing. Whether sending money home, securing international business contracts, settling invoices from abroad, forex trading (FX), or simply shopping online, cross-border payments are involved.
According to Ernst & Young, the total global cross-border payment flow is growing around 5% (CAGR) a year and is projected to exceed $156tn by 2022. An exponential surge in cross-border payments is a true constant in the financial world.
Despite inefficiencies and high costs, this market was until recently completely dominated by banks. Today, fintech companies are rising to the challenge of fixing the cross-border payment issues by introducing new ways to move money quickly and cost effectively across the world. One such company is DeeMoney, Thailand’s leading and fastest-growing fintech specialising in cross-border payments.
Global solutions with local expertise
DeeMoney makes cross border payments easy for everyone by providing turnkey fintech services and products. This includes local language support and competitive FX rates. It also facilitates inbound money transfer services to Thailand.
Founded in 2018, DeeMoney’s vision is to be the leading payment gateway in Thailand and revolutionise the cross-border fintech ecosystem. It aims to bridge the gap for customers who live between a digital and physical world through frictionless money transfer solutions.
Rising to the challenge
DeeMoney is operated by Thai-based SawasdeeShop Group and currently plays an active role in disrupting the payment landscape in Thailand. The founder and CEO of SawasdeeShop Co. Ltd Aswin Phlaphongphanich has always focused on innovation, and knows that without it, technology-related services rapidly become obsolete. Starting off as a provider of telecom-related services, the group branched out to offer more than five product lines, each shift aimed to solve different customer pain-points.
Working with migrants in the telecoms business underlined how the same people who needed to make affordable calls home also needed accessible and affordable financial services. To enhance migrants’ inclusion and access to the financial ecosystem, the group launched DeeMoney with an industry-first flat transaction fee of THB150 – equivalent to less than $5 – and marked the company’s first entry into financial services.
Having experienced first-hand some of the difficulties (and a lack of transparency) with bank payment processes and money transfers, the founders of DeeMoney navigated a raft of complicated regulations to become the first non-bank financial solutions provider to be licensed by the Bank of Thailand. Through its innovation, DeeMoney is driving towards a UN sustainable development goal of reducing remittance costs to 3% by 2030.
DeeMoney is pioneering a solution to one of the major uncertainties related to hidden transaction fees and fluctuating foreign exchange rates at each point in the payment chain. It aims to bring down transaction costs from 7% to 2%, saving 5% of $3bn a year, quantifying savings of more than $150m (THB4.5bn), directly benefits Thailand’s GDP.
Growth and innovation
Successful execution, a strong network, passionate teams, top technology, local experience, and transparency in its processes has cemented DeeMoney’s position as an industry leader in Thailand’s cross border payment ecosystem.
Since its launch, DeeMoney has grown exponentially, processing over one million transactions and facilitating over $1bn in cross border payments. It has utilised proprietary technology to build its products and created relevant marketing strategies around it to keep up with the rapidly evolving market demands and competitive space.
Developed in-house, DeeMoney’s platform Grand Central enables businesses to send money to many counties including the United States, Australia, China, India, and ASEAN countries such as Cambodia, and Myanmar.
It is also the first and only fintech in Thailand to offer a next working day account credit guarantee to over 25 countries via its DeeNext product. With its flat and upfront transaction fee, businesses can save up to 12% on B2B transactions – which is very significant. Its collaboration with over 40 international partners ensures a strong and reliable distribution network globally, with digital service points that are accessible anywhere and anytime. It is continuously building on its existing network of global partner companies and shared technology to enhance choice, timely transactions and ultimately achieve frictionless cross-border payments.
A roadmap for the future
DeeMoney’s journey has only just begun, as it is committed to a vision of providing customers with a frictionless cross border payment experience. It offers specialised solutions, as the money transfer process is very much cultural and distinct to a local market. To strengthen the payment infrastructure even further, it has strategically invested in its technology to enhance the ecosystem development.
As an industry leader in Thailand, DeeMoney’s platform is connected to the entire national banking infrastructure. Partnering with DeeMoney enables banks to minimise risk and reduce time to market, therefore becoming more accessible to customers in Thailand. Its partner companies can leverage an open banking network through the API ecosystem and blockchain technologies enabling real-time and same-day settlement into all Thai bank accounts. It also endeavours to provide accurate tracking and delivery estimates, thereby improving end-to-end customer experience and reduce queries.
DeeMoney is focused on expanding its offerings to include integration with accounting software that can support businesses with invoice and batch payments, as well as offer multi-currency e-wallet capabilities. It also utilises data and best market practices to improve liquidity for its partner companies.
It is also scaling up and strengthening its leadership team to include members from diverse backgrounds and capabilities to drive long-term growth. In addition to a strong customer base due to word of mouth, the company is also looking to implement incentivised referrals, subscription models and leverage on its digital assets to accelerate growth in new markets.
DeeMoney has forged a strong niche and, in less than four years, swiftly progressed from a fintech startup to achieving a mainstream competitive presence – this makes it increasingly attractive for banks to partner with. DeeMoney has a holistic approach to building products that enhance the cross-border payment infrastructure, which is a stepping-stone towards fulfilling its aim to revolutionise cross-border payments.
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