Ezypay evolves to meet emerging payments needs in Southeast Asia

Founded in 1996, Ezypay isn’t exactly a startup anymore. But it’s been providing fintech services since before ‘fintech’ was a word, and it’s been evolving ever since. Today, that evolution is intertwined with international growth.

Ezypay’s platform allows merchants – gyms, childcare providers or subscription-based businesses, for example – to have an ongoing relationship with their customers by offering an integrated, seamless payment experience.

Across Southeast Asia, these kinds of payments have not historically been the norm, Ezypay CEO James Foster explains. But that’s changing.

For Foster, there’s opportunity not only in bringing this capability to businesses and consumers, but in tailoring solutions to meet their needs and complement tools they’re already using.

In November, Ezypay announced a partnership with GCash, the most prominent digital wallet provider in the Philippines.

‘More Filipinos have a GCash wallet than a bank account,’ Foster says.

‘GCash has only recently enabled the capability of recurring payments, and we’re the first provider to go live with that. That’s a big feather in our cap.’

A large region under-served by digital payments

Ezypay started expanding into Asia about 7 years ago, when several of its software partners and merchants also entered the market.

‘We had an opportunity to grow with our customers,’ Foster explains. ‘It’s always easier when you have some confidence around the customer base and product-market fit.’

There’s also a significant opportunity in Asia, one that’s sometimes overlooked by Australian startups.

‘Asia is a large market, and quite under-served from a digital payments perspective,’ says Foster.

Today, while Australia remains Ezypay’s largest single market, more overall revenue comes from overseas.

Singapore has seen year-on-year growth of 31%, overtaking New Zealand as the fintech’s second-largest market. Malaysia has grown 30%, year-on-year, and Hong Kong has grown 62%.

Increasing demand for recurring payments

Partly, this growth has been driven by a macro trend of increased participation in structured health and fitness, Foster says. That has gone hand-in-hand with increasing demand for digitisation — in payments and elsewhere. 

‘Operators want better mobile apps for booking classes and allowing access to the gym 24/7. That’s driving an increased need for better software platforms,’ Foster says.

‘It’s Netflixification,’ he adds. ‘The younger demographic expects to be able to pay via subscription. Ezypay is relatively unique in that space.’

That’s not to say it’s been easy. 

Setting up an entity overseas is challenging for any business. In a highly regulated and ever-evolving space, things only get trickier.

‘The regulatory environment and market landscape are always changing. You’ve constantly got to be re-evaluating.’

Austrade has been invaluable, here, Foster says, connecting the team with the right consultants or industry bodies, for example.

‘There have been scenarios where there has been friction, and we haven’t necessarily understood how to get past it,’ Foster says.

‘Austrade has helped unblock those things.’

Ezypay’s partnership with GCash will make recurring payments easier in the Philippines.

Ambitious growth projected

For Foster, the opportunity in this market outweighs the challenges significantly. 

Ezypay has ‘barely scratched the surface’ of what’s possible in Southeast Asia, he says.

‘We have a target to be 10 times bigger in 10 years’ time, which is quite achievable.’

From his perspective, entrepreneurs often underestimate not only the possibilities but the extent of government support available.

‘Some business owners don’t realise the depth and breadth of support that exists, and how many people genuinely care about Australian businesses growing and expanding overseas,’ he says.

In particular, it was Austrade that connected Ezypay to GCash, at the Singapore Fintech Festival, directly leading to the first-of-its-kind partnership in the Philippines.

Austrade also connected Ezypay to the Philippines Central Bank, allowing Foster and the team to share their experiences, and contribute to the shaping of direct debit policies.

While Ezypay had been operating in the Philippines previously, these connections to both government and key clients have allowed the fintech to amplify its impact and accelerate growth.

Elsewhere, Foster took part in the first Landing Pads program in Indonesia — a complex and nuanced region.

‘Even ahead of us making a decision to enter a market, Austrade is assisting us in assessing our options,’ Foster says.

‘There are huge opportunities there, and just making more companies aware of these programs is a jolly good start.’

Sign up to receive the latest news and insights about Southeast Asia.