The ecommerce sector in Central Asia is steadily filling the gaps to attain full compatibility with the rest of the world. This entails vast enormous efforts in all the areas related to ecommerce. The progress is uneven – slow in some places and fast in the others – but there is certainly the movement forward.
Recently, some more steps have been taken by the stakeholders.
TransferGo partners with VISA
TransferGo, a world class fintech company, has partnered with Visa, the global leader in digital payments, to make it easy to transfer the money to the countries to Central Asia , Caucasus countries and Moldova.
Established in 2012, TransferGo is headquartered in Vilnius, Lithuania, with subsidiary offices in London, Kaunas, Warsaw, and Krakow.
The website upl.uz says, “This collaboration aims to facilitate international money transfers by allowing people in Europe and the UK to send money directly to Visa cards in nine countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Moldova. Thanks to this partnership, customers can now easily and profitably transfer money to their family and friends in these regions.”
TransferGo showed phenomenal growth in Central Asia, the Caucasus and Moldova in 2023 compared to 2022: the number of transactions increased by 169%, cash turnover increased to 177%.
While the partnership arrangement between TransferGo and Visa is not particularly aimed at the ecommerce, it will certainly help promote ecommerce in an indirect way.
Alif Bank of Tajikistan and Visa introduce new level of payments with Google Pay
The Google Pay payment system is now officially available in Tajikistan. Alif was the first among Visa participating banks in Tajikistan to connect to Google Pay and provide all holders of its Visa cards with the opportunity to pay contactlessly with an NFC-enabled smartphone. This opens the way for a new era of mobile payments and takes cashless payments to a new level.
Asia Plus reported on 25 June 2024, “The launch of Google Pay in Tajikistan is an important event for the development of the country’s cashless economy. Now users of Visa payment cards from Alif will be able to pay for purchases and services with Google Pay wherever Visa cards are accepted – in stores, online and in applications, and at the same time receive the same benefits and high level of protection as when paying with traditional cards Visa.”
Google Pay is a universal mobile payment system that helps users make payments using their smartphones and even online.
For payments at retail outlets, Google Pay uses NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, which allows the phone to interact with POS terminals at a distance of several centimeters. This provides fast, convenient and secure payments without the need for a physical card.
Payments are made instantly. There is no need to carry cards with you at all and you don’t need to worry about their safety. All you need is your phone. Your data is protected with Google’s multi-lay, ered security system. The app uses tokenization, which means that actual card details are never shared during payments. Payment takes just a few seconds. There is no need to enter card details, PIN code or payment amount each time – just bring your phone to the POS terminal.
Google Pay is accepted at millions of merchants around the world, making it convenient when traveling.
Kazakhstan and YTO Express partner for Central Asia’s largest e-commerce distribution center
YTO Express, the major logistics solutions provider from China, specializing in fast delivery of parcels, has partnered with Kazakhstan to establish the largest ecommerce centre of Central Asia to improve the efficiency of processing and delivering goods to the European Union, Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU), and throughout Central Asia.
Daryo news reports that the new distribution center will leverage advanced IT solutions to automate logistics processes and facilitate customs procedures, ensuring efficient handling of international shipments. Discussions during the meeting focused on fostering mutually beneficial cooperation in e-commerce and related sectors.
The distribution centre would be established in collaboration with the Kazpost of Kazakhstan.
Together with this hub in Kazakhstan, YTO Express plans to create five more distribution hubs, in the USA, Brazil, Thailand, Budapest, and Dubai. /// nCa, 12 July 2024