Thai retail giant Central Group opts for 2C2P payment solutions

  • Integrated payments offer e-shoppers more payment options, faster buying
  • Central Group aiming to boost website sales to US$10 million in FY2014
Thai retail giant Central Group opts for 2C2P payment solutions

SOUTH-East Asian payment services provider 2C2P said it has implemented a suite of e-payment solutions for The Central Group of Companies (Central Group).
 
Central ‎Group is Thailand’s largest retailer, with over 66,000 employees and US$7.4 billion in assets.
 
Singapore-headquartered 2C2P (Cash and Card Payment Processor) will ‎provide online payment solutions for five core retail brands – B2S, Central, OfficeMate, Robinson and ‎SuperSports, it said in a statement.‎
 
Central Group is placing a growing emphasis on online retail, aiming to boost website sales to US$10 million in its 2014 fiscal year.
 
Thai shoppers will soon benefit from additional payment choices, including the option to pay using ‘123 Payments’ and through wider card and bank acceptance through 2C2P’s partner network.
 
Other benefits include quicker transaction processing times, enhanced security against transaction fraud, and for the first time, installment payment plans (IPP) offered by leading partner banks, 2C2P said.

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“We are really pleased to be supporting Central Group’s retail chains with our services,” said 2C2P (Thailand) Co Ltd chief executive officer Piyachart Ratanaprasartporn.
 
“We are confident in our ability to enable regional e-commerce growth with our strong transactional infrastructure.
 
“Additionally, Central Group can structure consumer promotion plans across credit cards by letting customers enjoy payments stretched out in monthly installments. This payment solution will help customers spread the initial transaction burden, enabling them to buy more, and in turn, helping Central Group gain more customers,” he said.
 
2C2P offers partner merchants payment options such as credit cards, debit cards, cash via payment counters, bank channels, ATM and Internet banking.
 
Its 3D Secure authentication technology is used by card-issuing banks, processing over 85% of authentications in Thailand using its systems, 2C2P claimed.
 
The company has attained PCIDSS Level 1 compliance, the highest current payment security standard, and is able to detect threats with real-time fraud control tools.
 
“Central Group, and by extension, OfficeMate, sees a big opportunity in the growth of the Asean Economic Community (AEC),” said Worawoot Ounjai, chief executive officer at OfficeMate, a retail chain under Central Group.
 
“Specific to OfficeMate, we foresee our office supplies and stationery business growing rapidly. We project our revenues to reach 70 billion baht (US$2.17 billion) this year, a 10% increase from FY2013.
 
“Our online retail will be an important part of this overall mix. We can now accept online transactions from a wider list of leading banks and card companies, and we can do so with 2C2P’s seal of safety,” he added.
 
The opportunity for Thai online payments growth is immense, 2C2P said.
 
According UBS research, from the US$94.4 billion total domestic retail market, e-commerce has a potential of US$4.7 billion.
 
Nielsen research has highlighted that 55% of shoppers in Thailand felt comfortable shopping online with their payment card details stored on smart devices.
 
This was amongst the highest in South-East Asia, ahead of Vietnam (46%), Malaysia (45%), Singapore (49%), Indonesia (50%), and behind only the Philippines (57%).
 
The Central Group of Companies is a family-owned conglomerate that is involved in real estate, retailing, hospitality and restaurants.
 
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