ACpay Co Ltd (交流資服), a fintech firm devoted to providing payment and e-commerce service solutions, is set to list on Taiwan’s Emerging Stock Board on Friday next week at NT$34 per share, as local retailers and restaurants embrace digital transformation.
Created in 2020 with capital of NT$131 million (US$4.06 million), the Taipei-based company counts food and beverage chain La Kaffa International Co (六角國際), memory module maker Adata Technology Co (威剛科技), HIM International Music Inc (華研國際) and the government’s National Development Fund (國發基金) as its major investors, ACpay chairman Tesla Chen (陳彥甫) told a news conference in Taipei.
“A business turning point would come in the first quarter of next year, allowing the company to break even in the third quarter,” Chen said, adding that the goal is possible once its gross merchandise value reaches NT$6 billion.
Photo: Ou Yu-hsiang, Taipei Times
Payment solutions currently generate 70 percent of the company’s revenue, but would moderate to 33 percent from next year, as e-commerce and subscription fees gain equal importance, Chen said.
Toward that end, it spent NT$30 million this year integrating its e-commerce iCarry and third-party payment ACpay businesses so that its income sources would expand to subscription fees linked to its value-added content, and data analysis, advertisements and profit-sharing, he said.
Taiwan’s retail market expanded 11.1 percent from NT$3.85 trillion before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 to NT$4.28 trillion last year, aided by the ease and convenience of online shopping, Chen said.
At the same time, transactions carried out on PCs and smartphones spiked 71.6 percent from NT$283.7 billion to NT$493 billion, as consumers grew increasingly comfortable with online shopping, he said.
The figures suggest huge business potential for ACpay, Chen said.
The National Development Fund is providing financial support as it shares the need to speed up digital transformation at local retailers, eateries, gift shops and other relatively small business operators, he said.
Chia Te Bakery Co (嘉德糕餅), known for its pineapple cakes, became a customer partly to guard against customer data breaches, Chen said, adding that ACpay’s customers include 7-Eleven convenience store chain operator President Chain Store Corp (統一超商), Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd (國泰航空) and barbeque restaurant chain Hutong Yakiniku (胡同燒肉).
ACpay also integrates bonus points and coupons on behalf of its customers, he said.
Such services could help boost business revenue by 15 percent during a sales season, he added.
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