AXS to allow payments in digital currencies in tie-up with crypto payment firm

Users of AXS here can now pay a multitude of bills, fines, taxes and student fees in digital currencies, following a tie-up that opens up a new payment option in the market.

Popular bills payment platform AXS and cryptocurrency payment firm Triple-A on Tuesday (Jan 23) said they have partnered up to allow people to pay 550 of the 600 AXS services in four digital currencies.

This excludes all 50 AXS services relating to credit cards and bank loans.

Users can choose to pay in either Bitcoin, Ether, Tether or USD Coin.

This means the public can make top-ups or pay their recurring bills, such as road tax and enrichment class fees, in the four cryptocurrencies.

For instance, when a payment for a town council bill is made in Bitcoin, the payment goes to Triple-A, which acts as a gateway. The transaction is settled in one business day, with Triple-A instantly converting the amount of Bitcoin paid into Singdollar and crediting the Singdollar amount into AXS’ bank account.

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For now, the option to pay in cryptocurrencies is available only on AXS’ mobile app.

The two firms aim to roll out the service to the 650 AXS machines islandwide and the AXS website in the second quarter of 2024.

AXS, which counts DBS and Singapore-based private equity firm Tower Capital Asia as shareholders, has a monthly active user base of 650,000 on its mobile app. These refer to users who pay at least one bill on AXS monthly.

Chin Mun Chung, chief executive of AXS Services, noted that the collaboration allows the firm to cater to the evolving preferences of its diverse user base. 

Others who have partnered Triple-A for crypto payments include iStudio, Farfetch, Charles & Keith, Singapore Red Cross, Razer, Reap and AsiaPay.

Eric Barbier, Triple-A’s CEO, said the collaboration provides users a new form of convenience and choice for their bill payments. “By accepting digital currencies, AXS can enjoy reduced processing times and fees.”

Triple-A was founded by Barbier in 2017, and was among the first batch of applicants to receive a digital payment token licence from the Monetary Authority of Singapore in November 2021. THE STRAITS TIMES