Google Play partners with K PLUS through Antom's merchant payment service, broadening the array of payment methods for users in Thailand
Mobile payments in Southeast Asia are experiencing rapid growth, driven by the region's strong e-commerce growth, increasing smartphone penetration, and a shift away from traditional card payments towards mobile wallets and QR code-based systems. The digital payments market in Southeast Asia, valued at $11 billion in 2022, is expected to nearly triple to $38 billion by 2025.
In this dynamic landscape, Antom, a unified merchant payment service under Ant International, is playing a significant role. Antom has been a strategic partner to Google Play in expanding payment options in the Asia Pacific region. Over the past year, Antom has helped Google Play enable a growing list of leading payment options including DANA, GCash, Touch 'n Go eWallet. Now, Antom has enabled recurring payment capabilities on the K PLUS banking app, supporting global enterprise merchants.
Google Play has integrated K PLUS, a mobile banking app operated by KASIKORNBANK, as a new payment method. This marks the first time a Southeast Asian mobile banking app is made available as a payment option in the Google Play platform. According to Gary Liu, General Manager of Antom, Ant International, this collaboration forms a pillar of the broader strategic partnership between Google and Ant International.
Dr. Ketchayong Skowratananont, Executive Vice President of KASIKORNBANK, stated that the collaboration with Google Play expands payment choices for Google Play users in Thailand. The integration allows K PLUS's 14 million users on Android devices to pay for global and local digital content on Google Play using their banking app. The goal, as stated by Dr. Ketchayong Skowratananont, is to have more than 1 million linked accounts by the end of 2025.
Beyond payments, Antom supports Google Play in launching digital campaigns through its A+ Rewards, an in-App digital marketing platform. Over 2023 and 2024, consumers claimed over 20 million Google Play vouchers from A+Rewards on regional e-wallets.
Google Play and Antom will continue to work together to increase local payment coverage and enhance payment experiences. The partnership underscores Antom's commitment to building the infrastructure for digital inclusion, as stated by Gary Liu. With the K PLUS launch, Antom further strengthens its collaboration with Google Play.
This integration is consistent with the broader Southeast Asian trend of local digital wallets and banking apps forming partnerships with major platforms to facilitate seamless digital payments. While the search results do not explicitly confirm such an integration, given the mobile-first e-commerce context, integration with platforms like Google Play to enable direct payments or enhanced digital wallet support would align with market dynamics.
References: [1] Statista [3] Google, Temasek, Bain & Company, e-Conomy SEA 2022 Report [4] Google, Temasek, Bain & Company, e-Conomy SEA 2022 Report
- In the ongoing collaboration between Google Play and Antom, the K PLUS banking app has been integrated as a new payment method on Google Play, marking a significant step by a Southeast Asian mobile banking app in expanding its reach within the digital payments market.
- As digital inclusion continues to be a focus in Southeast Asia, ffnews.com reports that Antom's partnership with Google Play extends beyond payments, with plans to increase local payment coverage and enhance payment experiences, while also supporting digital campaigns through Antom's A+ Rewards platform.
