LienVietPostBank to issue JCB Platinum Debit Card in Vietnam

Hanoi & Tokyo, Mar 30, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Lien Viet Post Joint Stock Commercial Bank (LPB) and JCB International Co., Ltd. (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., announced the launch of the LPB JCB Platinum Debit Card today.





The new LPB JCB Platinum Debit Card will focus to serve and meet the demand of LPB's affluent customer group. The holders of LPB JCB Platinum Debit Card can access JCB acceptance network with about 35 million merchants around the world.

LPB JCB Platinum Debit Cardholders can enjoy exclusive benefits such as free access to airport lounges in Vietnam and worldwide, free access to JCB Plaza and JCB Plaza Lounge – the overseas customer service centers, and receive special discounts at more than 100 high-end restaurants and 28 luxury golf courses across Vietnam.

In particular, LPB JCB Platinum Debit cardholders will receive 1% cash back for all retail transactions via POS and ecommerce. Moreover, all card transactions can be easily managed through the LienViet24h digital banking app, which also supports changing PIN or card lock status online.

The launch of LPB JCB Platinum Debit Card will help to diversify the product portfolio and meet various demands of LPB's customers as well as continuously contribute to the development of cashless payment in Vietnam.

About LienVietPostBank

Established in 2018, March, after 11 years of operation, LienVietPostBank has gained remarkable achievements in terms of business performance, network expansion, and brand name prestige in both domestic and international markets, remaining as the leading CSR bank in Vietnam.

LienVietPostBank is the largest commercial bank in terms of network in Vietnam with nearly 400 owned branches/transaction offices in all 63 cities and provinces, more than 1,000 postal transaction offices and the exploitation over 10,000 nationwide post offices.

LienVietPostBank is also among the top 10 commercial banks in Vietnam in terms of total assets and stays in the list of Top 100 Vietnam strong brands for 4 years consecutively.

The Bank has been striving to become a leading retail and universal bank in Vietnam – "A bank for everyone" – by focusing on providing banking products and services for individuals, households and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) especially in the agricultural sector, expanding its activities to rural and remote areas via the post office network.

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 35 million merchants around the world. JCB cards are now issued in over 20 countries and territories, with more than 140 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase its merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information: www.global.jcb/en/

Contact
JCB
Kumiko Kida, Ayaka Nakajima
Corporate Communications
Tel: +81-3-5778-8353
Email: jcb-pr@jcb.co.jp

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Hi Sun Tech Announces 2020 Annual Results: Profit for the Year Increases 14% to HK$779 million

HONG KONG, Mar 30, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – A leading payment & finance solutions provider in China, Hi Sun Technology (China) Limited (the "Company"; Stock code: 818.HK), announced the audited consolidated results of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") for the twelve months ended 31 December 2020 (the "Year").

Results Highlights
1. During the Year, the Group's accumulative transaction volume of payment processing solutions segment was approximately RMB1,460 billion, and the total number of transactions increased against the trend, with an increase of 42%;
2. During the Year, the Group's supply chain financial technology sector has made great progress, including successfully introducing several core enterprises and banks, providing supply chain financial services to more than 1,000 SMEs, and accumulatively addressing financing needs exceeding RMB5 billion;
3. During the Year, according to the subscription agreement, three investors completed the subscription for an aggregate of approximately 14.55% of the enlarged registered capital of Megahunt, at a subscription price of RMB80 million;
4. Cloopen (NYSE:RAAS), an associated company of the Group, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 9 February 2021(NYT).

During the Year, the Group's consolidated revenue reached HK$4,143.4 million, representing a decrease of 26% when compared with HK$5,576.0million for the same period last year. The Group's operating profit was HK$653.1 million, representing an increase of 13% when compared with HK$578.2 million the same period last year. Profit for the year was HK$779.1 million, representing an increase of 14% when compared with HK$683.0 million for the same period last year. The increase in profit was mainly due to a significant increase in fair value gains on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss for the Convertible Series C Preference Shares and Convertible Series D Preference Shares of Cloopen Group Holding Limited, held by the Group, for the Year, which partially compensated for the significant decrease in the transaction volume in the Group's payment processing solutions segment due to the impact of global COVID-19 pandemic (the "pandemic"). Basic earnings per share for profit attributable to the equity holders of the Company increased 15% to HK$0.236.

Business Review
Payment Sector Driven by New Technologies Empowering the Digital Transformation of Small and Micro Enterprises
During the Year, the global pandemic hindered many offline business activities, and the Group's payment processing solutions business was subsequently affected, with a decrease of 17% to RMB1,460 billion in transaction volume for the Year. The segmental turnover fell by 30% to HK$3,266.2 million, and the segmental operating profit amounted to HK$524.9 million, representing a decrease of 25% when compared with the same period last year. By end of 2020, the number of accumulated active domestic merchants of VBill OPCO ("VBill"), a subsidiary of the Group primarily engaged in its payment processing business, exceeded 3.3 million.

The pandemic has accelerated the transformation of digital operations. During the pandemic, the Group strengthened its efforts to support small and micro merchants, launched various SaaS products to improve operating efficiencies, and simultaneously cooperated in-depth with more than 1,000 SaaS service providers to help small and micro merchants increase their transaction volumes, and continuously strengthen the value chain from payment to commercial services. Therefore, while transaction volume declined, the number of transactions increased and the cumulative number of transactions processed in 2020 increased 42%, when compared with the same period last year.

Additionally, the Group's supply chain financial technology sector has made great progress, including successfully introducing several core enterprises and banks, providing supply chain financial services to more than 1,000 SMEs, and accumulatively addressing financing needs exceeding RMB5 billion. In the future, the Group's supply chain financial technology sector will focus on solving the financing problems of small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs") through the use of block chain technology to realize the split and transfer of credit, and to empower the credit of core enterprises to many SMEs in the supply chain.

Looking forward, VBill will continue to focus on small and micro merchants, and work with SaaS service providers to offer a full range of digital business services for small and micro merchants. The Group will begin with payments and build into a first-class digital economic infrastructure service provider.

Improving Quality and Efficiency in Other Business Segments, and Seeking New Development Opportunities
— Information security chips and solutions segment: sales for the Year increased slightly and other research and development ("R&D") projects continued to progress smoothly. Cost reduction initiatives for various products were also rolling out in orderly manner.
— Platform operation solutions: during the Year, the Group continued providing operational support services to three bases of China Mobile. In the future, in addition to consolidating its support from and partnerships across various businesses of China Mobile, the Group will also strive to explore technical service opportunities outside the mobile operator system.
— Financial Solutions: the Group deepened its core system downshift and core system cloud business, helped customers achieve the greatest degree of application asset preservation and reduced the risk of upgrading core business system technology in Mainland China. In Hong Kong and Macau, the Group continued to develop new products in virtual banking licensing, integration of faster payment systems (FPS), open bank (Open Bank), and other Internet financial innovation fields, to help customers accelerate the pace of Internet financial innovation. In response to overseas market demand, the Group established Shenzhen Hi Sun Fintech Global Company Limited to conduct R&D of related products resolutions. At present, it has signed cooperation agreements with a number of cooperation channels for overseas market expansion, and signed a banking business system construction contract with a Cambodian bank.
— Electronic power meters and solutions: performance of this segment remained similar to the same period last year. During the Year, the Group managed to win the bid in the State Grid's two unified tenders. On technical aspects, the Group is actively working with the State Grid Power Research Institute to steadily advance the research and construction of GB standards for IR46 electronic power meters.

The Group commented, "As the impact from the pandemic has gradually narrowed, offline consumption activities have been returning to normal. The needs of traditional small and micro enterprises for online business transformation are becoming increasingly urgent, and digital and intelligent upgrades have become a necessity for these enterprises' long-term development. As a pioneer with deep-rooted experience in the payments industry for many years, Hi Sun Technology has an in-depth understanding of small and micro enterprises' operating model and pain points, and regards them as the focus of services in the long run. Looking forward, the Group will continue to keep up with technology and business trends, leverage cutting-edge technology such as cloud computing, big data, and block chain as driven forces, and provide professional, scenario-based, systematic, and low-cost services, thereby creating greater value for the Company's shareholders, clients, and society!"


*For identification purpose only

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Hi Sun Tech Announces 2020 Annual Results: Profit for the Year Increases 14% to HK$779 million

HONG KONG, Mar 30, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – A leading payment & finance solutions provider in China, Hi Sun Technology (China) Limited (the "Company"; Stock code: 818.HK), announced the audited consolidated results of the Company and its subsidiaries (the "Group") for the twelve months ended 31 December 2020 (the "Year").

Results Highlights
1. During the Year, the Group's accumulative transaction volume of payment processing solutions segment was approximately RMB1,460 billion, and the total number of transactions increased against the trend, with an increase of 42%;
2. During the Year, the Group's supply chain financial technology sector has made great progress, including successfully introducing several core enterprises and banks, providing supply chain financial services to more than 1,000 SMEs, and accumulatively addressing financing needs exceeding RMB5 billion;
3. During the Year, according to the subscription agreement, three investors completed the subscription for an aggregate of approximately 14.55% of the enlarged registered capital of Megahunt, at a subscription price of RMB80 million;
4. Cloopen (NYSE:RAAS), an associated company of the Group, began trading on the New York Stock Exchange on 9 February 2021(NYT).

During the Year, the Group's consolidated revenue reached HK$4,143.4 million, representing a decrease of 26% when compared with HK$5,576.0million for the same period last year. The Group's operating profit was HK$653.1 million, representing an increase of 13% when compared with HK$578.2 million the same period last year. Profit for the year was HK$779.1 million, representing an increase of 14% when compared with HK$683.0 million for the same period last year. The increase in profit was mainly due to a significant increase in fair value gains on financial assets at fair value through profit or loss for the Convertible Series C Preference Shares and Convertible Series D Preference Shares of Cloopen Group Holding Limited, held by the Group, for the Year, which partially compensated for the significant decrease in the transaction volume in the Group's payment processing solutions segment due to the impact of global COVID-19 pandemic (the "pandemic"). Basic earnings per share for profit attributable to the equity holders of the Company increased 15% to HK$0.236.

Business Review
Payment Sector Driven by New Technologies Empowering the Digital Transformation of Small and Micro Enterprises
During the Year, the global pandemic hindered many offline business activities, and the Group's payment processing solutions business was subsequently affected, with a decrease of 17% to RMB1,460 billion in transaction volume for the Year. The segmental turnover fell by 30% to HK$3,266.2 million, and the segmental operating profit amounted to HK$524.9 million, representing a decrease of 25% when compared with the same period last year. By end of 2020, the number of accumulated active domestic merchants of VBill OPCO ("VBill"), a subsidiary of the Group primarily engaged in its payment processing business, exceeded 3.3 million.

The pandemic has accelerated the transformation of digital operations. During the pandemic, the Group strengthened its efforts to support small and micro merchants, launched various SaaS products to improve operating efficiencies, and simultaneously cooperated in-depth with more than 1,000 SaaS service providers to help small and micro merchants increase their transaction volumes, and continuously strengthen the value chain from payment to commercial services. Therefore, while transaction volume declined, the number of transactions increased and the cumulative number of transactions processed in 2020 increased 42%, when compared with the same period last year.

Additionally, the Group's supply chain financial technology sector has made great progress, including successfully introducing several core enterprises and banks, providing supply chain financial services to more than 1,000 SMEs, and accumulatively addressing financing needs exceeding RMB5 billion. In the future, the Group's supply chain financial technology sector will focus on solving the financing problems of small and medium-sized enterprises ("SMEs") through the use of block chain technology to realize the split and transfer of credit, and to empower the credit of core enterprises to many SMEs in the supply chain.

Looking forward, VBill will continue to focus on small and micro merchants, and work with SaaS service providers to offer a full range of digital business services for small and micro merchants. The Group will begin with payments and build into a first-class digital economic infrastructure service provider.

Improving Quality and Efficiency in Other Business Segments, and Seeking New Development Opportunities
— Information security chips and solutions segment: sales for the Year increased slightly and other research and development ("R&D") projects continued to progress smoothly. Cost reduction initiatives for various products were also rolling out in orderly manner.
— Platform operation solutions: during the Year, the Group continued providing operational support services to three bases of China Mobile. In the future, in addition to consolidating its support from and partnerships across various businesses of China Mobile, the Group will also strive to explore technical service opportunities outside the mobile operator system.
— Financial Solutions: the Group deepened its core system downshift and core system cloud business, helped customers achieve the greatest degree of application asset preservation and reduced the risk of upgrading core business system technology in Mainland China. In Hong Kong and Macau, the Group continued to develop new products in virtual banking licensing, integration of faster payment systems (FPS), open bank (Open Bank), and other Internet financial innovation fields, to help customers accelerate the pace of Internet financial innovation. In response to overseas market demand, the Group established Shenzhen Hi Sun Fintech Global Company Limited to conduct R&D of related products resolutions. At present, it has signed cooperation agreements with a number of cooperation channels for overseas market expansion, and signed a banking business system construction contract with a Cambodian bank.
— Electronic power meters and solutions: performance of this segment remained similar to the same period last year. During the Year, the Group managed to win the bid in the State Grid's two unified tenders. On technical aspects, the Group is actively working with the State Grid Power Research Institute to steadily advance the research and construction of GB standards for IR46 electronic power meters.

The Group commented, "As the impact from the pandemic has gradually narrowed, offline consumption activities have been returning to normal. The needs of traditional small and micro enterprises for online business transformation are becoming increasingly urgent, and digital and intelligent upgrades have become a necessity for these enterprises' long-term development. As a pioneer with deep-rooted experience in the payments industry for many years, Hi Sun Technology has an in-depth understanding of small and micro enterprises' operating model and pain points, and regards them as the focus of services in the long run. Looking forward, the Group will continue to keep up with technology and business trends, leverage cutting-edge technology such as cloud computing, big data, and block chain as driven forces, and provide professional, scenario-based, systematic, and low-cost services, thereby creating greater value for the Company's shareholders, clients, and society!"


*For identification purpose only




Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

TPBank to issue JCB Card in Vietnam

Hanoi & Tokyo, Mar 25, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) and JCB International Co., Ltd. – the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co., Ltd., announced the launch of TPBank JCB Credit Card today.





The new TPBank JCB Credit Card offers one card grade: Gold card. The holders of TPBank JCB Credit Card can access JCB's global acceptance network with about 35 million merchants in the world.

With TPBank JCB Credit Card, customers can enjoy numerous of attractive features and exclusive benefits, such as special discount at more than 100 high-end restaurants, earning reward points for every card spending transaction (5,000 VND is equivalent to 01 reward point) and five times reward points when spending at supermarkets & shopping centers. Besides, customers will receive additional 10,000 reward points for every 10 million VND spending per month. With reward points, customers can redeem with a wide range of attractive gift items. During the launching period, new card members will get many attractive privileges such as: waived annual fee and issuance fee in the 1st year, complimentary insurance package worth 120 million VND as well as 10,000 reward points for those who have total transaction volume of 3 million VND during the 1st month. In addition, TPBank also offers valuable gifts for card members with highest spending amount in each month.

About TPBank

Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank (TPBank) was founded on May 5th 2008. TPBank inherits technological expertise and financial strength from its strategic shareholders including DOJI Gold & Gems Group, FPT Group, Vietnam National Reinsurance Corporation (Vinare), SBI Ven Holding Pte. Ltd (Singapore), IFC International Finance Company (under World Bank) and PYN Elite Fund.

With mission to offer most effective banking & finance solutions to customers, especially the young and active segment, TPBank has always been pioneering in setting trends in modern banking services. Basing on advanced technological infrastructure and specialized management, TPBank has created many breakthrough products which has helped TPBank become the first bank with a diversified and outstanding digital banking ecosystem in Vietnam.

TPBank has been in the Top 10 most prestigious Vietnam's commercial banks 2020 by Vietnam Report. The Bank has been striving to become a leading retail and universal bank in Vietnam by focusing on providing with the highest added value to customers. This is also the compass for TPBank's sustainable development.

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 35 million merchants in the world. JCB Cards are now issued in over 20 countries and territories with more than 140 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/

Contact
JCB Co., Ltd.
Kumiko Kida, Ayaka Nakajima
Corporate Communications Department
Tel: +81-3-5778-8353
E-Mail: jcb-pr@jcb.co.jp

Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank
Yen, Duong Thi Phuong (Ms.)
Card Product Development Department – Retails Banking Division
Tel: +84 2437 683 683 / +84 904 758 991
E-Mail: YenDTP@tpb.com.vn

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

Maps.me to Launch Financial Services of the Future to Millions of Users

ZUG, SWITZERLAND, Mar 24, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Maps.me today announced that it will add next-generation financial capabilities to its navigational services, aiming to enrich the lives of hundreds of millions of people around the world by providing them with an easier way to pay, transfer, earn passive income and invest. From generating attractive investment returns in a low-interest world to making instantaneous payments across 35 currencies, Maps.me 2.0 will integrate convenient financial services with the world's most popular off- line mapping platform.

"We're excited to be building a holistic travel and financial platform that will be a trusted companion to our highly-engaged community of users as they explore the world and go about their daily lives," said Alex Grebnev, Co-founder of Maps.me. "Maps.me has enhanced people's ability to navigate, wherever they are going. Now, the same platform will offer financial services that are cheap, secure and highly relevant to the needs of Maps.me users."

From maps to money

Maps.me is used to discover and navigate places – from the streets of Barcelona to the African savannah – and bookmark them for future use. The app's open-source technology provides greater agility and choice for users, fueling an ever-increasing network that has enriched Maps.me itself. Over the last nine years, the app has been downloaded 140 million times, with 60 million people using it to navigate 195 countries in 2020.

Pilots, magazine photographers, professional cyclists, aid workers and everyday travellers love using its turn-by-turn routing, travel guides, and detailed mapping – which are all available without using often- costly mobile data. Maps.me is particularly popular with millennials in Europe: roughly 60% of users from are from the region, and more than 70% are between the ages of 18 and 40.

A recent survey conducted by Maps.me indicated that roughly half of its users are interested in accessing financial services via the app. More than 140,000 users have already joined the waiting list for a digital wallet that will allow them to:

– Earn yields of as much as 8% on stored value;
– Make payments via a linked credit card; and
– Transfer money instantly to friends and family globally and in 35 different currencies

The value in Maps.me wallets is invested in AAA-rated assets and held in a Swiss trust structure that is administered by TMF Services, a regulated entity in Switzerland. TMF is the largest corporate service provider in the world, trusted by over 60% of Fortune Global 500 and FTSE 100 companies. Users enjoy this security as well as the convenience of accessing these services via a platform they know and love – all for zero or low fees.*

A new approach to finance

The financial services offered via Maps.me will draw on a new approach to financial services: decentralized finance. DeFi is a user-driven financial system that uses smart contracts to allow people and institutions to transact directly with each other, rather than via a large financial institution.

Unnecessary middlemen are eliminated, cutting costs, increasing speed and certainty.

Since its inception, Maps.me has been open and community-driven, with users contributing to its development using the OpenStreetMap Project. Maps.me users are a substantial part of the OSM contributor group. Maps.me 2.0 builds upon that same spirit and DeFi makes this possible by allowing many to connect with many.

The roll-out of these financial capabilities with Maps.me 2.0 follows the platform's acquisition last November by Daegu Limited, a member of the Parity.com Group.

The integration of financial services with the Maps.me platform is moving ahead quickly. Closed beta testing of the Maps.me wallet will be finalized in the next few weeks. Waitlisted users will start to be offered access to the wallet after the testing process is completed, followed by a broader launch in due course.

More about Maps.me

Maps.me is the world's leading off-line mapping application for travelers. Launched in 2012 it has been downloaded more than 140 million times. More than 60 million users worldwide were active in 2020 planning and navigating their excursions in 195 countries. Maps.me users can download maps for their intended travels and then access their maps without the need for expensive roaming connectivity. An open-source advocate, Maps.me users are a primary contributor to the OpenStreetMapping Project globally. Beginning in 2021, the app will integrate payment, currency exchange and passive income services in 35 currencies to further enable explorers worldwide.

Media contacts:

Asia:
Adam@CaliberCorporateAdvisers.com
+852 3569 2275

North America:
ScottK@CaliberCorporateAdvisers.com
+1 917 647 1810

* https://www.tmf-group.com/en/about-us/

SOURCE: Maps.me

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

JCB strikes strategic deal with WLA for providing JCB Contactless Kernel Specifications to WLA members

TOKYO, Mar 12, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – JCB Co., Ltd., a leading global payment scheme, announced that it has signed a strategic agreement with the White Label Alliance (WLA) to provide JCB Contactless Kernel Specifications to WLA members wishing to migrate to the contactless solution.

WLA was founded by IDEMIA, G+D and NXP(R) Semiconductors in response to increasing global demand for the next-generation independent payment solution for domestic and private-label payment schemes. By providing WLA members with an open and comprehensive payment standard covering contact and contactless payment cards, mobile and payment terminal devices, WLA facilitates their migration to new technology.

JCB, agreeing on participating in this initiative with its proven technology, signed an agreement with WLA, allowing WLA members to use JCB Contactless Kernel Specifications and kernels.

JCB Contactless, JCB brand's contactless payment solution that is expanding globally, is fully compliant with EMV(R) standards and supported by most acceptance devices including those of major global terminal suppliers. The arrangement between JCB and WLA thus enables WLA members to further accelerate their contactless migration and shorten time-to-market, by using the existing ready-to-deploy JCB Contactless terminal devices.

"As momentum toward contactless payments is gathering on a global scale, it is becoming critical that the interoperable contactless capability is more accessible so that a wider audience can benefit from the enhanced convenience and security," said Masaki Yokawa, Executive Vice President, Brand Business at JCB Co., Ltd. "By offering our technology to WLA, we are delighted to work with banks, local networks and vendors to enable contactless implementation with less efforts and shorter time-to-market."

"I would like to warmly welcome JCB to WLA on behalf of our founding members, G+D, IDEMIA and NXP." WLA President, Jacques Doucerain said, "We all work together to create a truly independent solution, based on tried and tested technology, with rapid time to market for domestic payment networks, transport operators, private schemes and retailers. Our agreement with JCB will boost our appeal and this unprecedented payment industry initiative. It furthers our original goal to bring about a global independent standard."

EMV(R) is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries and an unregistered trademark elsewhere. The EMV trademark is owned by EMVCo, LLC.

About WLA

Headquartered in Munich, the White Label Alliance (WLA) is a member-driven organization committed to extensive adoption of independent payment solutions for smart card and digital firms based on WLA payment standards that enable ready-to-deploy and interoperable payment solutions. Find out more at wla-payment.org.

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 35 million merchants around the world. JCB Cards are now issued in over 20 countries and territories with more than 140 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase its merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information, please visit: www.global.jcb/en/

Contact
Kumiko Kida, Ayaka Nakajima
Corporate Communications
Tel: +81-3-5778-8353
Email: jcb-pr@jcb.co.jp

Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

China Securities Initiates Yeahka at BUY

HONG KONG, Mar 11, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – Chinese investment bank China Securities initiates coverage on YEAHKA LIMITED (9923) with a BUY rating.

In the initiation research report headlined "A Technology-enabled, Industry-leading Mobile Payment Company", China Securities equity research analyst Ran Zhao is bullish on Yeahka's addressable market, recognizing the Company's core competitiveness as "product + channel + ecosystem".

Key takeaways from the research report include:

Competitive landscape: Market concentration likely to increase
– UnionPay, Lakala and Yeahka are the leading players among third-party non-financial payment service providers. While Yeahka is slightly behind the two peers in terms of transaction volume, it has a larger number of transaction counts. China Securities' research estimates the market share of these three leading players in China is no more than 30%.

Entry barriers: Limited number of payment licenses
– There are only 31 non-financial payment service providers with national payment licenses in China up to date, of which 16 own a mobile payment license. It is expected that the PBOC will not issue additional payment licenses with ongoing heightened regulatory scrutiny.

Industry outlook: RMB 10 billion+ market ahead
– Increasing penetration of integrated QR code payments could boost one-stop mobile payment services. According to statistics from iResearch and other third-party sources, integrated QR code payment transactions currently accounted for approximately 30% of offline QR code payment transactions, with an average annual transaction volume of more than RMB 200 trillion. Assuming an average payment take rate is 1.5%o, and the market penetration increases 10%, the incremental market size will be RMB 30 billion.
– Yeahka's technology-enabled business will benefit from the increasing penetration of SaaS. According to China Securities' conservative estimates, assuming 50% of the 60 million Chinese merchants nationwide purchased SaaS products or services at an annual subscription rate of RMB 1,000, the market size will be RMB 30 billion.

Core competitiveness: product + channel + ecosystem
– Product: as an independent third-party service provider, Yeahka offers SaaS products to help merchants connect with diversified payment, marketing and financial platforms, giving alternative option rather than having to pick between two internet giants.
– Disctribuiton channel: Yeahka's distribution network spans 8000 partners and more than 300 cities in China. Its payment services served around 4.7 million merchant customers and 491.9 million consumers as of June 30, 2020.
– Ecosystem: Yeahka's SaaS products developed for merchants include a suite of one-stop payment services, shop operation services and marketing services. The number of technology-enabled service customers reached 585,000 in the first half of 2020.



Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

CICC Initiates Yeahka at OUTPERFORM with HK$98.20

HONG KONG, Mar 10, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – CICC initiates coverage on Yeahka Limited (9923), a leading payment-based technology platform in China, with an "outperform" rating and a target price of HK$98.20. CICC is upbeat on Yeahka's dual-growth-driver (payment + value-added services) business model and the growth potential of the Company's QR code payment and marketing services.

Key takeaways from the report include:

Core payment services: Yeahka concentrates on offering integrated QR code payment services for small and micro merchants: 1) QR code payment: CICC expects Yeahka to achieve rapid growth in the next 5 years; 2) QR code payment services feature high-frequency and wide consumer base; 3) Yeahka's high revenue-sharing ratio for sales agents and its strategy that targets small and micro merchants will drive rapid growth in merchant volume.

Value-added businesses: Huge room for commercialization based on its "data + scenario + traffic" business model: 1) Marketing services: CICC expects high-frequency transactions (QR code payment) and dual expansion drivers (proprietary R&D + M&A) to be the key drivers for Yeahka's revenue and profit growth; 2) Merchant SaaS products empower small and micro merchants to improve customer stickiness. CICC sees monetization potential in the long run; 3) Yeahka's fintech services business is expected to achieve mild growth in the short-to-mid run.

Strong internet background enables Yeahka to provide targeted services; increasing R&D investment is expected to accelerate product upgrades: 1) Yeahka's management team possesses extensive experience in the internet sector 2) Yeahka has a solid shareholder base, which includes internet giant Tencent; 3) Its strong R&D team is expected to boost product upgrades.


Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

CICC Initiates Yeahka at OUTPERFORM with HK$98.20

HONG KONG, Mar 10, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – CICC initiates coverage on Yeahka Limited (9923), a leading payment-based technology platform in China, with an "outperform" rating and a target price of HK$98.20. CICC is upbeat on Yeahka's dual-growth-driver (payment + value-added services) business model and the growth potential of the Company's QR code payment and marketing services.

Key takeaways from the report include:

Core payment services: Yeahka concentrates on offering integrated QR code payment services for small and micro merchants: 1) QR code payment: CICC expects Yeahka to achieve rapid growth in the next 5 years; 2) QR code payment services feature high-frequency and wide consumer base; 3) Yeahka's high revenue-sharing ratio for sales agents and its strategy that targets small and micro merchants will drive rapid growth in merchant volume.

Value-added businesses: Huge room for commercialization based on its "data + scenario + traffic" business model: 1) Marketing services: CICC expects high-frequency transactions (QR code payment) and dual expansion drivers (proprietary R&D + M&A) to be the key drivers for Yeahka's revenue and profit growth; 2) Merchant SaaS products empower small and micro merchants to improve customer stickiness. CICC sees monetization potential in the long run; 3) Yeahka's fintech services business is expected to achieve mild growth in the short-to-mid run.

Strong internet background enables Yeahka to provide targeted services; increasing R&D investment is expected to accelerate product upgrades: 1) Yeahka's management team possesses extensive experience in the internet sector 2) Yeahka has a solid shareholder base, which includes internet giant Tencent; 2) Its strong R&D team is expected to boost product upgrades.



Copyright 2021 ACN Newswire. All rights reserved. http://www.acnnewswire.com

JCB and Keychain Create Blockchain-based Micropayment Solution for IoT

TOKYO, Feb 12, 2021 – (ACN Newswire) – JCB Co., Ltd. and Keychain GK have developed a novel infrastructure for processing credit-based micropayments between IoT devices. The innovation promises to enable direct human-to-machine and machine-to-machine payments at scale without the confines of credit cards.







As new networks, such as 5G, deploy and the use of Internet of Things (IoT) devices grow, so will the need for automated and machine-to-machine micropayments. Mobile payment apps enabled the common mobile user to pay with their phone, however the current payment infrastructure does not support tens of billions of IoT devices. Use cases in point: electric vehicles automatically paying for charging, or a farmer receiving payment for produce to a mobile device while offline. Such an infrastructure needs to handle vast cybersecurity and operational risks related to identity fraud, hacking, privacy and denial of service.

JCB and Keychain have begun solving these challenges by implementing a new blockchain and distributed ledger-based payment infrastructure that mitigates the risks of IoT micropayments.

Micropayment Infrastructure

JCB and Keychain developed the solution based on digital identity, delegated transaction approval, and secure transaction archival (joint Japan patent pending #2021-00571).

Image: https://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_JCB202102121.jpg

1. Integrated digital identity
– Each IoT device has a unique, blockchain-based, self-sovereign identity associated with customer identity. This establishes a necessary technical basis for behavior attribution and regulatory compliance.

2. Delegated transaction approval at the network's edge
– Using Keychain Core's data provenance capability, the cost, operational risks, and financial risks of payment processing are pushed towards the edges of the network. This enables mitigating large-scale cybersecurity attacks with comparatively large-scale defenses.
– Transaction approval is processed in real time by devices geographically closer to the location of the transaction.
– The result is a smoother, lower latency user experience and more scalable risk mitigation for the issuer.

3. Secure transaction record archival
– Using identity-based data provenance and security techniques, the system ensures that data is securely relayed to the issuer for compliance and integrity checking.
– The records integrate into conventional settlement systems, leveraging the digital identity-user mappings.

Image: https://www.acnnewswire.com/topimg/Low_JCB202102122.jpg

The go-to-market plan consists of enhancing the technology, practical real-world pilots, production infrastructure build out during 2021, and go-live in 2022.

Keychain Blockchain Technology

Keychain Core, Keychain's flagship technology product, is a set of software building blocks that enable Keychain partners to easily exploit the power of blockchain and distributed ledger technology. With Keychain Core, Keychain partners reduce operational risks related to data security and achieve new patterns of business. Keychain Core natively supports a wide range of devices including personal computers, tablets, smart phones, smart watches, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices easy to integrate with existing systems and applications.

Keychain Core main elements are the following:
1. Self-sovereign identity
2. Data-centric security
3. Secure workflows
4. Custom digital assets

About JCB

JCB is a major global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 35 million merchants in the world. JCB cards are now issued in more than 20 countries and territories with more than 140 million cardmembers. As part of its international growth strategy, JCB has formed alliances with hundreds of leading banks and financial institutions globally to increase merchant coverage and cardmember base. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. For more information: www.global.jcb/en/

About Keychain

Keychain is a leading technology provider that is building managed trust for the digital world. As a leading blockchain technology provider, Keychain aims to fortify operational integrity, reduce risks/cost, streamline business processes, and enable new patterns of business in finance, industry, and enterprise. Keychain's technology has been recognized with prestigious awards including the Global Fintech Award from the Association of Banks in Singapore and the IoT Lab Special Jury Award from Japan's Ministry of Economy Trade, and Industry.

Contact for media
JCB
Kumiko Kida, Ayaka Nakajima
Email: jcb-pr@jcb.co.jp
Phone: +81 3 5778 8353

Keychain
Email: engage@keychain.io

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