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KUALA LUMPUR: AirAsia Group Bhd
has renamed its digital companies under AirAsia Digital, and aims to evolve AirAsia.com to become an Asean “super app”, which will be an all-in-one platform for travel, food delivery, shopping, logistics, healthcare and financial services.
The low-cost airline’s chief executive, Tan Sri Tony Fernandes, said the group can leverage its database of 60 million customers.
“Even in this Covid-19 world, AirAsia.com remains one of the highest-traffic websites and apps in Southeast Asia and Asia. We are going to open up that powerful application and website to many more products, ”he said at a press conference here.
Fernandes explained that AirAsia Digital is supported by Teleport (cross-border logistics operations), BigPay (fintech company), BigLife (loyalty program) and Santan (food and beverages), as well as RedBeat Academy (training center in collaboration with Google) and Data Center. (data consulting unit).
The group also has plans for BigPay to become Asean’s first digital bank.
“We believe that with our data and our brand, we can be Asean’s first digital bank. We will apply for a banking license when it becomes available in the not too distant future, ”he said.
He noted that BigPay is now the largest e-wallet by gross transaction value size in Malaysia, and will also launch in Singapore in a few weeks.
“We already have a waiting list of 20,000 people in Singapore. BigPay is payments, remittances and, very soon, also a credit product. To increase the speed and number of transactions on Airasia.com, some of the BigPay features will also be on Airasia.com, ”he said.
Fernandes also said that the group would also offer more insurance products in addition to travel insurance.
“We are also going to create a wealth management portal on AirAsia.com for those who want to buy unit trusts or obtain loans,” he said.
Fernandes also pointed out that with the exception of BigPay, the other digital companies are profitable.
“BigPay is not profitable due to interchange fees, which we are discussing with regulators.”
He said AirAsia.com was confident of success due to its low customer acquisition costs, in-app social engagement chat platform, single sign-on process, and easy and secure immediate one-click payment.
“AirAsia Connect, which will be launched soon, is our chat channel, very similar to WeChat, a community-based and individual chat application. We already have a million users. Plus, through a single sign-on process, you can transact on AirAsia.com and on any of our sites. Fernandes also said that the group was exploring options to raise more funds to grow AirAsia Digital.
“In terms of capital, we don’t have a number. It could be convertible debt or stocks. We have just started the process. But we don’t need a lot of money. We build them on our own capital, until now. “
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