BigPay: Riding on AirAsia’s digital strategy
When an organisation as big and ambitious as AirAsia joins the fray, you know you’re hot on the heels of the latest tech trend.
Thus, when founder Tan Sri Tony Fernandes officially unveiled BigPay at the Money 2020 conference in Singapore on March 15 this year, all eyes were on the app.
During the event, Fernandes said the driving factor behind AirAsia’s move into fintech was a real ization that it could monetize the wealth of “high resolution data” it has collected from around 63 million passengers over its 16 years of operation.
Developing an in- house digital payments platform would also help AirAsia take a lead on competing airlines by moving towards a “cashless cabin,” he said.
Today, the BigPay card allows you to pay anywhere in the world as opposed to other e-wallets which can only be used at select merchants.
“We don’t identify as an ewallet, as we think we have much more functionality than the other e-wallets out there,” explained BigPay’s chief executive officer Christopher Davison in an interview.
“You can also send money to your friends that have BigPay – for free. We’re passionate about bringing both freedom and value to our customers, and the combination of both a card and a mobile money app is the perfect bridge.
“Our goal is not to give p e ople tempora r y and gimmicky discounts, but to empower Malaysians – and eventually the whole of Asean – with sustainable, fair and transparent financial services.
“This includes getting rid of those high markup fees that are traditionally applied when spending abroad.”
In speaking to BizHive Weekly, Davison said he hopes to replicate AirAsia’s revolutionary travel disruptive strategies within financial services.
“AirAsia has revolutionised travel in South East Asia. From a home grown Malaysian brand it has now become one of the largest airlines in the world. As AirAsia changed the travel industry, BigPay is disrupting and democratising financial services.
“BigPay is about offering great value for money, a cutting edge product and excellent service. We believe everyone should have access to essential financial services – it shouldn’t cost you an arm and leg to pay for things while your on holiday.
“We ’ v e combi ne d a beautifully designed app and a payment card with much lower fees than your bank, especially when you spend abroad. We’ve had a fantastic response and uptake in the first 6 months since launch – more great things to come!”
A unique feature offered by BigPay is the ability to see the exact exchange rate it is giving – and the group plans to continue adding more features to the e-wallet.
“We’ve just added an easy way to split bills between friends and also requesting money from friends,” he enthused. “We’re constantly working on improving our user interface and the spending analytics.
“Everything should be intuitive, fast, easy to use and easy to understand. We really want to create ways that that people can budget better and save money for a rainy day or that dream vacation.
“We’re very community focussed and take all feedback and suggestions from our users to build the best product we can.
“In the medium term, we plan to expand into providing the best value remittances and credit facilities available in the market. There’s so much to do, it’s exciting.”
When asked about future merchant opportunities, the CEO had this to say: “We have a lot of exciting partnerships coming, including with well know brands present within East Malaysia. Sabah and Sarawak is one of our main priorities for growth.
“We f requent ly have exclusive discounts with AirAsia, as wel l as zero processing fees, earning AirAsia Loyalty Points and many other benefits. When it comes to any services, you have the right to ask for more. More information, better support, less fees, transparency . Don’t feel content with what you’ve been used to, especially when it comes to money. Your choice is your power. Be more in charge!”