FinTech company Smartpay, located in Japan, has introduced Smartpay Bank Direct, a digital consumer financing product that lets users pay for online installment purchases directly from their bank accounts. Through a network of 67 partner banks across Japan, Smartpay Bank Direct prioritizes user security while providing convenience for the customer. Smartpay is the first digital consumer finance company in Japan to make use of open banking.
Smartpay, founder and CEO, Sam Ahmed, said, “We believe we are driving digital consumer finance to the next phase of its maturity. ‘Buy now, pay later’ has had to grow up from the prospective of a business model, profitability, and consumer value proposition.”
The widespread acceptance of Smartpay’s application by customers and businesses who favor simple digital payments promotes the shift from a cash-based to a digital society. The company’s strategy was developed in two stages. The first phase was centered on financial inclusion and assisting those without access to credit to participate in the digital BNPL economy. It also resolved the problem of cash usage and built a platform and ecosystem to facilitate the transition to a more effective paperless payment system.
The next stage of Smartpay’s digital consumer finance journey is focused on reaching middle- and high-income users with smart financial solutions that are secure, practical, quick, and add genuine value across the ecosystem. This phase of the company’s consumer finance journey will continue to target these users.
The company’s adaptable user experience (UX), accessible technology, eKYC (electronic know your customer), dependable security features, and good business model are developed for users who have a need for effective digital banking solutions, which will revolutionize markets with comparable conditions, significant inflationary pressures on consumer psychographics, and demography.
While the current emphasis is on the Japan, KSA, and UAE sectors, Smartpay will eventually turn its attention to Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, and other areas in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
