Stepping out onto world stage
Sarawak Pay to be rebranded to S-Pay in bid to go global, says Chief Minister
KUCHING: E-payment platform Sarawak Pay is set to be rebranded to allow it to go global, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg has said.
He said the mobile application, which was launched in November 2017, would be known as S-Pay a er the rebranding, with the move set to allow the platform to be used outside the state.
“I think if we rebrand it, it can go universal. We have asked people to carry out a study on rebranding and based on the feedback, if we use (the name) Sarawak Pay, the mobile application could be confined only to Sarawak. We want to make use of our mobile payment somewhere else, outside Sarawak, as well,” he told reporters here yesterday.
Abang Johari, who was a ending the GLC Leaders Dialogue with Singapore’s Temasek Holdings, said efforts were being made to allow Sarawak Pay to be used beyond the local market.
He pointed out that with Sarawak Pay already in an alliance with China’s UnionPay, which had a global reach, it was fi ing that Sarawak Pay sought to go beyond the confines of the state.
The chief minister also revealed that beginning next month, Sarawak Pay could be used in any place that accepted UnionPay.
I think if we rebrand it, it can go universal. We have asked people to carry out a study on rebranding and based on the feedback, if we use (the name) Sarawak Pay, the mobile application could be confined only to Sarawak. We want to make use of our mobile payment somewhere else, outside Sarawak, as well.
Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg
“In fact, Sarawak Pay can be used in Singapore now as certain retailers are accepting UnionPay, so there is already a lot of collaboration between UnionPay and Sarawak Pay.”
The Sarawak government implemented Sarawak Pay as part of efforts to introduce digital economy, to allow cashless payment of bills and at selected retailers in the state via a mobile app.
Sarawak Pay, which enables payment through electronic wallet (e-wallet), credit card or online banking, has paved the way for new ways of doing business transactions.
It has a ‘scan and pay’ feature that facilitates payment by scanning a QR code on a bill, or one displayed by a retailer.
Meanwhile, on the bilateral relationship with Singapore, Abang Johari said since the se ing up of Sarawak’s trade and tourism office in the citystate, there had been a lot of interest shown by the business community there in addition to government-to-government talks.
He revealed that last weekend, a minister from Singapore visited him for the second time in four months, bringing along a delegation from the Singapore
Business Federation.
“As you all know, we have exported our ‘tilapia’ (fish) to Singapore and they want to increase the volume of tilapia import from us. Another thing they want from us is furniture,” he said, expressing confidence that Sarawak’s relationship with Singapore would become an outlet to the global market.