Soft Space Sdn. Bhd. (Soft Space), the world’s leading fintech-as-a-service (FaaS) provider, and JCB International Co., Ltd., the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd. (JCB), have announced the launch of the first-ever JCB payment gateway in Malaysia.
This milestone follows the strategic partnership between Soft Space and JCB, signed in January 2022, and builds on their successful central bank digital currency (CBDC) trial in December 2023, as well as the recent agreement to enable JCB acceptance for all HLB merchants.
Leveraging JCB’s robust global network and Soft Space’s technical expertise, the JCB payment gateway aligns with the global shift towards diversified digital transactions, meeting the market’s demand for secure, innovative payment options. Soft Space provides a straightforward Application Programming Interface (API) specification, enabling acquirers and payment facilitators to offer their retail merchants access to JCB’s network of over 156 million cardmembers globally as of September 2023.
Soft Space, Chief Executive Officer of Soft Space, Joel Tay said, “The launch of the JCB payment gateway complements the fact that Malaysia is the most visited country in Southeast Asia in 2023. Not only will this make cross-border payments more convenient, secure, and seamless, it aligns well with our broader goal to promote Soft Space’s technology in other verticals such as transit and in-flight payments globally.”
E-commerce merchants, particularly those in the tourism sector, stand to benefit greatly from this development. Japanese tourists, who are increasingly purchasing attraction tickets and booking accommodation via e-commerce merchants, can now make payments using JCB cards through payment facilitators. This move capitalizes on the rapidly growing international e-commerce spending by JCB cardmembers, which increased by 52% from 2021 to 2022.
President and JCB International Co., Ltd., Chief Executive Officer, Yoshiki Kaneko said, “We are delighted to launch the new function together with Soft Space to seize the growing business opportunity in the e-commerce business, while providing a better experience for our JCB cardmembers and merchants.”
The first JCB payment gateway member, senangPay, a Malaysian payment facilitator, has already been onboarded. Soft Space aims to accelerate the onboarding of other acquirers and payment facilitators in the APAC region and beyond, promising greater efficiency, security, and convenience for both merchants and JCB cardmembers.
senangPay, CEO, Mansor Abd Rahman emphasised, “Offering diverse payment options expands senangPay’s range of payment solutions and enables our merchants to connect with Japan’s tourists and expatriates in Malaysia.”
This achievement between Soft Space and JCB demonstrates their collaborative synergy’s potential to create comprehensive solutions for a global audience. It signifies their mutual commitment to transforming the global payments landscape.
