Pine Labs, Visa team up to offer Instalment Solutions in Southeast Asia

By Gloria Methri

In a move to enhance payment flexibility, Indian FinTech Pine Labs has partnered with Visa to launch Visa Instalment Solutions (VIS) on its multi-issuer payment platform.

Previously, merchants used to sign up with multiple issuers and deploy multiple payment terminals to process instalment transactions at the point of sale. The collaboration between Pine Labs and Visa will enable merchants more flexibility and affordability to offer seamless instalment payment options for domestic and cross-border transactions. Merchants in Southeast Asia, including Courts, Hooga and Chicco, will be able to provide this integrated instalment solution.

Visa Instalment Solutions will be first introduced on Pine Labs’ network of merchants in Singapore, Malaysia and the Philippines, and subsequently in Thailand, Indonesia and other Southeast Asia markets.

Dheeraj Chowdhry, Chief Business Officer – SEA, Pine Labs, said, “This collaboration plays on the strength of Visa’s vast global network and Pine Labs’ tech capabilities to provide flexible and intuitive instalment payment options for consumers. Facilitating consumer finance on already approved credit lines using their existing credit cards is expected to be a win-win for cardholders and merchants. It empowers merchants and direct brands to boost ticket and basket size by taking the transaction up the affordability curve. This is further amplified by enablement of cross-border instalments during purchase – a feature that will be a ‘market-first’ across the instalments landscape.”

Commenting on the partnership, Kim Hak J, Head of Products & Solution for Regional Southeast Asia, Visa, said, “According to Visa’s Green Shoots Radar Study, the usage of instalment solutions in Southeast Asia is significantly higher than the Asia-Pacific average. The same study showed that over the past two years, we have observed a notable increase in instalment payments usage, particularly in Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. This trend underscores the growing preference for flexible payment options among consumers in these markets, and we are excited to support this demand through our partnership with Pine Labs.”

As a participant in the program, Harry Higashiura, Chief Executive Officer, Courts Malaysia and Singapore, said, “As the leading omni-channel retailer in electrical, IT and furniture products across Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, we see demand for instalments when it comes to customer purchases. We are thrilled to participate in this initiative by Visa and Pine Labs to enable our customers with more options to pay for their purchases across our stores in the region.”