BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN – Brunei’s largest telco DST announced on Tuesday that it will partner with Baiduri Bank to launch an e-wallet in the second quarter of 2020.
The two companies signed a memorandum of understanding today at the DST headquarters in Tungku Link, saying the partnership will allow them to share resources to create the “largest digital payment ecosystem in Brunei” with connectivity to regional and international payment platforms.
“This is [part of] DST’s larger road map to evolve from a telecommunications company into a provider of integrated mobile services,” said the telco’s acting CEO Radin Sufri Radin Basiuni.
The new e-wallet will use Near Field Communications (NFC) technology that will allow users to pay at card terminals by simply ‘tapping’ their phones or scanning a QR code.
Once launched, the e-wallet will be available to all DST subscribers and accepted nationwide at over 2,000 Baiduri Bank merchant outlets. It will also be linked to a regional payment platform so that customers can also use the e-wallet overseas.
“We hope this will become a game changer for both DST and Baiduri in enabling our generation for the Smart Nation,” Radin said, adding that both companies see it as a “tremendous” opportunity to drive cashless mobile payments in Brunei.
DST has the largest mobile subscription base in the country while Baiduri has the largest merchant base.
CEO of Baiduri Bank Ti Eng Hu said, “We are pleased that DST has chosen Baiduri Bank to work on this very important project. Through synergies from two successful Bruneian companies, more opportunities are created for greater commercial efficiency… thus contributing to the enhancement of the payment eco-system in this country.”