InVent, a VC arm of Intouch Holdings Public Company Limited (SET: INTUCH) has invested in a Series A financing round for payment and e-wallet technology startup Digio (Thailand) Co., Ltd. Digio and Intouch aim to tap onto the rapidly growing e-payment market in Thailand and Southeast Asia.

Mr. Kim Siritaweechai, Executive Vice President – Portfolio Management and Head of Venture Capital Team (InVent) at Intouch, said: “Intouch mainly focuses our investment on telecommunications, media, and IT. By following our mission, “Connecting Thais for Sustainable Growth,” InVent will help Intouch create sustainable growth for our shareholders, customers, and society through innovative technology. Fintech is one of the technologies that we believe can improve customers’ convenience and make their lives easier.

“Digio is the first fintech company that has caught our eye. Its impressive growth and traction has proved itself that it is one of the leading fintech companies in Thailand.”

“Intouch always has an eye on payment businesses. Leading by mPAY, a mobile e-wallet company, we began supporting our customer’s needs of mobile payment since many years back. Digio will definitely help us strengthen our position in mobile payment and also in other fields in a world dominated by financial technology,” said Mr. Kim.

Bangkok-based Digio is one of the leading financial technology (fintech) startups in Thailand. The company provides turnkey payment solutions including card-based payment and e-wallets for financial institutions. The company is widely known as the pioneer of mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) technology in Thailand. The mPOS technology has enabled thousands of small merchants in Thailand to accept electronic card payment since then. This technology is also conform with and supports the National e-Payment policy of the government of Thailand to increase the use of electronic card payment and transform Thailand into a cashless society.

Digio is widely known as the pioneer of mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) technology in Thailand.  Since then, mPOS technology has enabled thousands of small merchants in Thailand to accept electronic card payments.

Mr. Nopphorn Danchainam, CEO and Founder of Digio, said: “I have foreseen that the electronic payment will be a major part of Thailand’s economy in the near future so I decided to found Digio which was initially focused on card payment services. We were the first to bring mPOS technology to Thailand with the aim to help SMEs to be able to accept electronic card payment with acceptable fees. Currently, Digio's system can also accept payment from e-wallets such as Alipay or WeChat Pay.”

“We are expanding our team to support the growing demand from domestic clients and also aiming to expand our reach to neighboring countries by partnering with Intouch.”

Digio is the first fintech company in InVent’s portfolio and it is the 11st company that InVent has invested in. Among previous investments by InVent are the international VR advertising company Social Nation, local business review portal Wongnai, golf course booking platform Golfdigg and mobile-first engagement solutions Playbasis.

ABOUT DIGIO

Established in 2012 by Mr. Nopphorn Danchainam, Digio is a unified payment technology provider for financial institutions. The platform comprises acceptance for all kinds of international and local card schemes, and e-wallets and also make it available across all channels for offline and online payment.

Digio brought the mobile point-of-sale (mPOS) technology to Thailand in 2013. The technology has become so popular that Digio has already deployed approximately 100,000 devices to Thailand's small shops, restaurants, or even street vendors.

Digio’s mission is to transform Thailand to become a cashless society by helping on the development of the electronic payment infrastructure.

ABOUT INVENT

InVent is a corporate venture capital project of Intouch Holdings PLC (SET: INTUCH), a Thailand-based asset management company in telecom, media, and information technology. Founded in 2012, InVent focuses its investment on growth-stage internet and mobile companies in Thailand and Southeast Asia and puts a strong commitment in working closely with the founders to help them gain access to markets and scale the commercialization of their products.

A corporate VC pioneer in Thailand, InVent has invested in more than 10 emerging technology startups, contributing to Thailand’s economic development through innovation-driven businesses and creation of over 500 new jobs across multiple sectors. Its portfolio companies include Ookbee, Wongnai and Social Nation.