The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed e-commerce technology ahead by two years and driven a revolution in how people pay for things.

According to the Mastercard New Payments Index, 94 per cent of consumers in the Asia Pacific region say they’ll consider using at least one emerging payment technology in the next year.

Nowhere is the shift toward emerging payment trends truer than in this region, where 88 per cent of people surveyed said they used at least one new emerging payment type in the last year.

Among that group, two-thirds (64 per cent) said they tried a new payment method they would not have tried were it not for the pandemic.

The findings from the Mastercard New Payments Index make clear that consumers want contactless simplicity with an easy interface.

For many, that’s meant adopting QR codes. In the Asia Pacific region, QR codes have gained solid traction compared to the rest.

Of those who used QR codes for payment, 63 per cent said they used them more frequently in the last year than they had in the past. According to the new research, the number is 64 per cent, above the global average of 56 per cent in both Thailand and India.

Furthermore, majorities of respondents perceive new payment methods like QR codes to be cleaner (76 per cent) and more convenient (71 per cent) for in-person payments.

Also Read: Here’re the most-used digital payments across APAC in Mar-Apr 2020

QR (short for Quick Response) technology isn’t new– the codes were invented in 1994 in Japan to help manufacturers track parts on automobile assembly lines– but smartphones are what have driven them into widespread use.

It’s now easy to scan a code and be directed to a payment, advertising or other gateways online. The technology feels simple and safe as it doesn’t require fishing for one’s wallet or providing personally-identifying information.

As a result, use cases within and beyond payments are proliferating. Fintech in China, India and other countries have expanded the use of QR codes for peer-to-peer money transfers and as a way for smaller merchants, who traditionally accepted cash largely, to use more digital payments.

Larger payments technology companies like Mastercard have created QR codes that offer global interoperability, increasing their accessibility as a way to pay.

Adjacent to payments, the technology has become useful for many purposes ranging from contact tracing for COVID-19 (as it’s used here in Singapore) to pay for taxi fares to directing diners to online menus at restaurants.

Small codes make a big difference for small businesses

But for many micro and small merchants (MSMEs) in these and other markets in the region, there are still pain points hindering their technology adoption.

Many of these businesses rely on home deliveries and transient storefronts to run their businesses.

Without counters with room to display a QR code, or POS machines that issue paper receipts, providing a QR code to customers to receive payments requires a merchant to print it out and carry it around on a flimsy piece of paper or to display it on a smartphone screen (which not everyone has).

To address this market segment, we recently introduced a Mastercard QR on Card solution in India – called ConQR – in partnership with BOB Financial Solutions Limited (BFSL).

This patented technology combines the convenience of paying with a credit or debit card and the ease of receiving payments via a QR code in one payments instrument.

Also Read: Telling the fortune of digital payments in 2021, CNY style

The innovation creates a portable and safe way for MSMEs to both pay and be paid, does not require a smartphone for them to use, and is an easy and cost-effective digital payments solution that can help them grow their businesses and establish a credit history.

Technology solutions like these will help small merchants better prepare for post-pandemic life because, quite simply, consumers now value businesses that offer more touchless payment options.

As Mastercard’s Index revealed, 74 per cent of consumers in APAC said they would shop at small businesses more frequently if they offered more payment options.

This shows that customers like paying with emerging payment methods like QR codes. They also expect businesses to provide these options and reward those that do with their loyalty.

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CoderSchool, a Vietnamese startup providing online coding courses, has secured US$2.6 million in pre-Series A funding led by Monk’s Hill Ventures.

Returning investors Iterative, XA Network and iSeed Ventures also joined.

The funding will be used to create more educational content and technology infrastructure for CoderSchool’s technical education programmes. It also plans to hire an additional 35 instructional staffers by Q4 2022 to support online operations.

Founded in 2015 by Charles Lee (CEO) and Harley Trung, CoderSchool offers full-stack web development, machine learning, and data science courses to Vietnamese. In 2020, it switched to online mode. It claims to record 100 per cent quarter-over-quarter growth in fully online enrollments since then.

Also read: Rocket Academy rakes in US$1.1M to tackle global software engineer shortage

“We’re obsessed with creating an exceptional remote-first learning experience with better results, for more people, at a lower cost,” said CEO Lee. “Coding is the future. At CoderSchool, we believe everyone in Southeast Asia deserves a chance to be part of that future. “

CoderSchool’s centralised platform employs data analytics to manage classrooms at scale and improve individual student performance. It also enables software to automate tedious day-to-day teaching operations, including student progress tracking, submission grading, class attendance, and course personalisation.

The startup guarantees job placement for students through its assistance in counselling, mock interviews, mentor introductions and workshops with technical experts. 

CoderSchool boasts that over 80 per cent of its full-time graduates landed a job within six months of graduation at leading local and global tech companies such as Momo, Tiki, Shopee, Microsoft and FPT Software.

“The need for strong engineers and developers in Southeast Asia has never been as pertinent as it is today with the growth of tech companies and digital businesses,” said Michele Daoud, partner at Monk’s Hill Ventures. 

To date, CoderSchool claims to have clocked over 2,000 alumni and recorded a tripling number of enrolled students.

According to a report of Vietnam’s IT recruitment platform TopDev, Vietnam is currently short of 500,000 IT personnel, especially high-skilled engineers. Meanwhile, only around 5,000 IT students graduate annually from universities, of which the training programmes do not fully meet businesses’ requirements.

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Image credit: CoderSchool

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Indonesia’s leading insurtech startup, Fuse, has extended its Series B financing round by raising capital from a clutch of investors, including eWTP Technology and Investment Fund, CE Innovation Capital, and Saratoga.

This tranche comes just over a month after Fuse announced the closing of the Series B round led by GGV Capital, with participation from returning investors, including East Ventures (growth fund), SMDV, Golden Gate Ventures, Heyokha Brothers, and Emtek. According to a Deal Street Asia report of June, Fuse raised US$30 million in that round.

The company will use the new funds for further expansion in Southeast Asia.

Also Read: ‘SEA is lagging behind in the growth of insurtech, financial advisory, embedded finance’: Ganesh Rengaswamy of Quona Capital

“As a leading insurtech player in Indonesia, Fuse has a unique value proposition that empowers traditional sales channels by connecting numerous and scattered insurers with a large agent network, providing agents/brokers with a comprehensive lineup of insurance products. In addition, Fuse has demonstrated an ability to leverage new and innovative insurance products from other countries to create a distinct competitive advantage,” said Jiang Dawei, Partner and CFO of eWTP.

Fuse was established in 2017 by industry veterans Andy Yeung and Ivan Sunandar to solve Indonesia’s last-mile trust gap in the insurance industry (97 per cent of Indonesians are underinsured for lack of trust in the current system). The startup has adopted an agent-focused model.

With over 60,000 agent partners on its platform, Fuse claims it offers instant closing and rapid claims processing. Its total gross written premium (GWP) exceeded US$50 million (IDR 720 billion) in 2020.

It has partnerships with more than 30 insurance companies and 300 insurance products on the platform. It covers everything, from employee benefits to digital insurance embedded in e-commerce platforms.

In 2018, it supported Tokopedia in launching its first transactional top-up micro-insurance product.

In October 2019, Fuse secured “a couple of million USD” in Series A round from investors, including EV Growth.

Also Read: Fuse raises Series A funding from EV Growth, to multiply presence across country

“Fuse seeks to address the trust concerns of 97 per cent of Indonesians who are still uninsured. We believe Fuse is on the right track to scale up the business in the long run. Given the relatively low penetration of insurance products in the country, promising population growth prospect, and the increasing demand from customers post the pandemic, we have full confidence in Fuse’s next phase of growth,” said Xiaolin Zheng, Partner of CEIC.

eWTP, an Alibaba-backed fund based in China, aims to tap startup opportunities in emerging markets. The US$600-million fund was set up in 2018 and has investments in India, Vietnam, and Thailand. Fuse is eWTP’s first foray into Indonesia.

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Image Credit: Fuse

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Global accelerator-cum-venture fund 500 Startups announced today it has rebranded as 500 Global, following the closing of a US$140 million global flagship fund.

This marks 500 Global’s largest fund to date, bringing its total assets under management to US$1.8 billion.

Under this new fund, 500 Global will expand its investment strategy beyond the accelerator and seed-stage to the later stages of a company’s growth. It also offers later stage co-investment opportunities to limited partners to expand its investment strategy.  

Founded in Silicon Valley 11 years ago, 500 Global invests in early-stage startup founders building fast-growing technology companies. The firm’s sectors of interest include markets where technology, innovation, and capital can unlock long-term value and drive economic growth.

According to a press statement, 500 Global has invested in 33 startups, which have attained unicorn status with valuations above US$1 billion. More than 120 startups in its portfolio are valued at over US$100 million. 

Also read: 500 Startups, Enterprise Singapore launch programme for emerging entrepreneurs to build startups from scratch

Some of its prominent portfolio companies are Talkdesk, Canva, Grab, Shippo, and more. It also joins pre-seed to IPO round of e-commerce startup Bukalapak, which has just enjoyed Indonesia’s biggest-ever listing in August.  

“As venture capital continues to globalise and the percentage of unicorns from outside the US increases further, 500 Global has deep expertise and a strong track record of investing in markets around the world,” said Christine Tsai, CEO and founding partner of 500 Global.

The firm boasts a network of 6,000 founders representing more than 2,500 companies across 77 countries. 

Not only does it have a presence in Silicon Valley, but 500 Global has also broadened its activities in Latin America and East Asia in 2011, the Middle East in 2012, Africa in 2013, and Southeast Asia in 2014. Last month, 500 Startups has rebranded its Southeast Asia fund from 500 Durians to 500 Southeast Asia.

According to Refinitiv data, buoyed by the pandemic-induced digital transformation across the world, global VC funds have invested record-breaking US$268.7 billion so far in 2021, exceeding their total investments of US$251.2 billion a year earlier.

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Image credit: 500 Global

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During the first half of 2021, public interest in blockchain reached an all-time high. Towards the end of last year, we saw an upswing in the number of organizations and enterprises buying and holding cryptocurrencies, causing the price of Bitcoin to cross US$60,000 for the very first time in March.

Talk of crypto quickly made its way into dinner table conversations, and it seemed as if everybody on the block was eager to dive into the world of blockchain.

For those that have been in crypto for a while, this bull run finally let them exit many of their alt-coin investments from the 2017 ICO wave, as the wider market price sentiment rallied alongside the mainstream coins to reach an all-time high.

The other worthwhile trend over the past six months has been the mainstream adoption of NFTs (non-fungible tokens), a technology that provides true ownership capabilities and authenticity over digital assets.

We saw hordes of multinational brands, intellectual property owners, celebrities, and individual creators quickly embrace this new technology and flock to various platforms to either buy NFTs or mint some of their own. 

It’s certainly been an exciting ride since AppWorks Accelerator started publishing Taiwan’s Blockchain Ecosystem Map two years ago.

In line with previous editions, we’ve observed several notable trends that have defined the blockchain industry this past half-year. 

Also Read: Taiwan’s AI ecosystem map: Deepening synergies between startups and corporates

Branded drops accelerated end-user adoption of NFTs

The NFT standard was formulated in 2017, so why did it only catch on this past year? It really came down to two key driving forces.

First, mainstream brands and IPs started employing NFTs as a vehicle to interact with their fans, such as the NBA through NBA Topshot, Taco Bell, and even the band Kings of Leon.

By creating a virtual experience through NFTs, brands were able to engage and create a unique bond with their loyal fans despite physical restrictions under COVID-19, allowing them to also generate alternative revenue streams from the sales of NFTs.

Second, NFTs are becoming an alternative asset class for yield-driven crypto holders and investors. During the ICO era in 2017, most developers and investors were either busy issuing coins or trying to find the next cryptocurrency with a hundred-fold growth potential; it wasn’t long until this model became monotonous and out of fashion.

Also Read: In brief: Taiwan’s XREX rakes in US$17M, Malaysia’s Poptron raises funding from Choco-Up

Fast forward to 2021, decentralised finance (DeFi) hit a US$100 billion market cap and drove crypto prices to all-time highs. As NFTs started emerging, crypto holders were naturally drawn to their consumer appeal and accretive potential, propelling NFTs into the limelight for mass adoption.

Much of this adoption is supported by advancements in the underlying infrastructure, including a growing ecosystem of protocols, marketplaces, games, developers, creators, and of course, buyers. 

Evidently, a lot of moving parts have come together in the last few years to catapult NFTs into stardom. In Taiwan, the NFT landscape has also evolved significantly compared to the second half of 2020.

For example, Lootex, an AppWorks alumnus, and Oursong, a subsidiary of KKBox, both established NFT products long before the recent bull run. All the effort they put in during previous cycles are now bearing fruit, with both companies receiving an influx of new partnerships and commercial opportunities.

During this time, we also saw a proliferation of new NFT players, such as JCard and Fansi, effectively creating a diverse selection of platforms for creators to choose from. 

With Beeple’s First 5000 Days selling for US$69 million, celebrity engagement, and primetime media including even SNL releasing NFT coverage, all the major signs of a bubble were there.

And surely enough, monthly transaction volume experienced a significant decline of 90 per cent shortly after its record high in May. Nevertheless, as witnessed with previous blockchain hype cycles, where there is money, there will be talent, and where there is talent, there will be development.

Ultimately, NFTs are still in the early innings, and while collectibles have served as the primary use case so far, this new technology will eventually extend across any product, service, or application that needs to use a digital ID. 

Taiwan’s regulation catching up to the world

Up to recently in Taiwan, the laws and regulations related to cryptocurrency have been very vague. And for those trying to stay compliant, they could only follow the existing but outdated mandate, or hope for the best by following foreign regulations.

Also Read: 3 trends that defined Taiwan’s blockchain industry last year

This was changed in April this year, as the Executive Yuan aligned their stance with the rest of the world by implementing strict AML/KYC requirements when dealing with cryptocurrencies. 

Existing players such as MaiCoin—the primary fiat-to-crypto exchange in Taiwan—faced minimal impact as stern KYC controls were already in place.

However, teams working on DeFi, lending, and investing may face greater obstacles, as it is challenging to design a user experience in a decentralized manner that complies with regulations while still adhering to the spirit of decentralization—a faux pas that many blockchain founders and evangelists are becoming increasingly critical of.

Going forward, we expect decision-makers to implement more comprehensive and tailored regulations for DeFi to prevent bad actors from gaming the system and taking advantage of everyday consumers; this will ultimately encourage more users and wider adoption, benefitting the ecosystem as a whole. 

Influx of funding and talent set to accelerate the development

With the price of bitcoin hitting an all-time high in H1 2021, investors around the world are taking note of the industry’s activities.

For example, in May this year, Dapp Pocket announced that they had been acquired by Turn Capital, a family office run by 17LIVE co-founder Joseph Phua.

It also merged its two products, Dapp Pocket and Cappuu, into Coinomo, with the aim of bringing crypto to mainstream users in Southeast Asia. 

At the same time, another blockchain wallet developer in Taiwan Portto, whose product Blocto serves as one of the earliest wallets supporting Flow and the largest delegated node by user count to stake Flow tokens, recently announced the completion of an US$8.8 million fundraising round.

Primary investors include top blockchain VCs from Silicon Valley and Taiwan, as well as participation from a notable crypto exchange, public chain foundations, NBA players, and well-known American entrepreneurs, among others. 

Despite a significant price correction in cryptocurrencies since May, the momentum that has been brewing over the past six months will likely pay off in the second half of the year, whether through DeFi, NFT, or blockchain applications at both the consumer and enterprise level.

We’ve also started to observe more international companies such as Animoca Brands enter Taiwan to recruit top-tier blockchain talent, which is expected to further accelerate the development of the country’s blockchain ecosystem. 

Also Read: How small and medium-sized restaurants in Taiwan leveraged digital tools to survive

To help fuel this momentum, AppWorks Accelerator #23 will kick off in August 2021 and has added Flow as one of its programme partners.

It will combine the resources of the Flow ecosystem to assist entrepreneurs using blockchain, NFT, and DeFi technologies to construct a new decentralised world.

Taiwan’s Blockchain Ecosystem Map First Half 2021 is created by AppWorks, Co-produced by Blockchain Media – Blockcast, BlockTempo, Zombit. This map is updated every six months.

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