Asia United Bank (AUB) is riding on the growing momentum for buy now, pay later (BNPL) in the country as it partners with Asia’s leading BNPL platform provider Atome and Singapore-based fintech MatchMove to launch Atome Card in the Philippines.

Wilfredo Rodriguez, AUB’s head of Operations and Technology Group, said BNPL allows Filipino consumers to pay less now without having to worry about interest rate hikes in the future.

According to the fourth-quarter 2021 BNPL Survey of Research and Markets.com, BNPL payment in the Philippines is expected to grow by 109.7% on annual basis to reach US$803.5 million (Php45.2 billion) in 2022 as “consumers are increasingly looking for flexible and convenient payment solutions which allow them to manage their finances effectively.”

Mr. Rodriguez said that Atome Card offers many Filipinos greater choice, flexibility, and access to quality products and services, extending the benefits of digital commerce to more consumers and businesses in the country.

“This tripartite partnership and innovation between a digital-first financial services provider like AUB, a BNPL leader like Atome, and a fintech like MatchMove will help further accelerate financial inclusion of the unbanked and underbanked in the Philippines,” he said.

Magic Tang, Atome Payment Partnerships Director, said this is the first time Atome is introducing the Atome Card to consumers in the Philippines, “thanks to the great partnership we enjoy with AUB and MatchMove.”

The Atome Card allows cardholders to pay online and in-store retailers by presenting their Atome Card during checkout. Consumers in the Philippines can register their interest for the Atome Card with one click, directly via the latest version of the Atome app, or via this registration link: https://www.atome.ph/atome-card. 

There is no minimum income requirement. Selected consumers will receive an email inviting them to apply for the Atome Card.

The Atome Card offered in the Philippines has the following features:

“We’re excited for the collaboration with Atome and AUB and the launch of the innovative Atome Card because it is aligned with the MatchMove goal of delivering secure and smooth spend, send and lend solutions. The Philippines has an increasing population of digital users and the card not only reaches out to the underbanked sector but also empowers them by giving them the luxury of time, choice, and seamless control of their finances,” said Shailesh Naik, CEO, MatchMove.

Since launched in the Philippines in October 2021, Atome has already forged partnerships with over 600 online and offline retailers. 

As Asia’s leading BNPL brand, it has over 15,000 online and offline retailers in 10 markets (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, mainland China, and Japan) and has popular K-pop group ASTRO as its first-ever global celebrity brand ambassador.

Filipino consumers can download the Atome Philippines mobile app on the Apple App Store and on Google Play.

Asia United Bank (AUB) is one of the fastest-growing publicly listed universal banks in the country. Established at the height of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, AUB is one of only two local commercial banks licensed at the time which has since thrived and expanded its operations. 

It is known for its digital innovations, which started years prior to the COVID-19 global pandemic which spurred many of its competitors to embark on digital transformation. 

Among its digital innovations are e-wallet HelloMoney, pioneering payments via QR and the early adoption of the national QR PH code, and AUB PayMate, its all-in-one digital payment acceptance product.

Atome is a leading buy now, pay later brand in Asia, partnering with online and offline retailers to increase conversions and grow average orders and customer segments. It currently partners over 15,000 online and offline retailers in 10 markets (Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, Thailand, mainland China and Japan). 

Key merchant partners include Sephora, Agoda, ZALORA, SHEIN, Zara, Marks & Spencer, Charles & Keith, Aldo and Pandora. For consumers, Atome offers choice, convenience and control in how they choose to shop and pay. Atome is part of Advance Intelligence Group, one of the largest independent technology startups based in Singapore. 

Founded in 2016, the Group has presence across South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and Greater China. The Group is backed by top tier investors SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Warburg Pincus, Northstar, Vision Plus Capital, Gaorong Capital, Pavilion Capital, GSR Ventures and EDBI.

MatchMove is a fast-growing and disruptive fintech company in digital payments and banking. The company's proprietary Banking OS™ enables Embedded Banking and the capabilities of Spend.Send.Lend.Defend.Ascend™ within our clients’ existing apps. 

Our acquisition of leading e-commerce infrastructure provider, Shopmatic, is the next step in that journey: combining a best-in-class Digital Commerce platform focused on SMEs with MatchMove's advanced Embedded Finance capabilities. 

MatchMove is licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore and authorized by leading card networks to issue virtual and physical cards along with virtual wallet accounts directly to users in approved jurisdictions, or anywhere else in the world with partner banks. 

The company is headquartered in Singapore with offices in India, Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and the Philippines.

For more information related to MatchMove’s services, please visit our website at www.matchmove.com.

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