As part of an ongoing effort to extend its reach within the realm of e-commerce in Southeast Asia, TikTok Shop is teaming up with ‘buy now, pay later’ service provider, Atome, in Malaysia. This significant partnership is forecasted to bolster overall growth, while providing a new, flexible payment solution for local businesses and their customers.
Jonathan Low, who leads e-commerce strategy and special projects at TikTok Shop, shared his perspective in a recent statement, highlighting how this integration will serve merchants and smaller enterprises by providing a versatile payment choice for their clientele.
This move is part of a broader strategy for TikTok Shop, as it progressively cements its presence in e-commerce throughout Southeast Asia. The platform is actively pursuing expansion beyond its primary U.S. market.
The newly formed alliance with Atome, the ‘buy now, pay later’ subsidiary of Singapore-based fintech powerhouse, Advance Intelligence Group, enables customers to divide their payments into manageable installments over a period of three to six months. The Advance Intelligence Group boasts significant backing from investment giants such as SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Warburg Pincus.
Speaking about the partnership, William Yang, the Head of Commercial at Atome, expressed his enthusiasm. He emphasized that integrating Atome’s services into TikTok Shop’s payment methods will provide a significant boost to e-commerce growth and provide support to brands of varying sizes.
TikTok’s CEO made a prior commitment to inject “billions of dollars” into Southeast Asia in the coming years. As of April, TikTok reported that it already had over 325 million monthly users in Southeast Asia.
Furthermore, TikTok Shop recently announced an investment of $12.2 million to assist over 120,000 small and medium-sized businesses in enhancing their online sales capabilities. This financial support includes cash grants, digital skills training, and advertising credits to aid these businesses.
