How 2C2P Plans To Solve Payment Problem in Southeast Asia [VIDEO]

We were happy to run our first ever Meetup in Ho Chi Minh city on the last day of February. Fifty people packed into the Lightbox cafe for a talk with Aung Kyaw Moe. Willis talked with Aung about the elements that led to the success of e-payments system 2C2P, which is the market leader in online payment in Thailand, and where the business is going next.

First, let’s look at some quick numbers:

• Since 2003, 2C2P has handled over $800 million worth of transactions. The goal is to have $200 million worth of transactions in Thailand.
• 2C2P’s revenue for 2012 was $2.6 million.
• Currently, 2C2P has 56 staff, and is hiring five to 10 new staff every month.
• Today, 2C2P is valued at $13 million.

E-payment lessons

Aung also shared with us some lessons that he’s learned along the way. Some of them, I thought, were particularly compelling.

About his company’s strength over the old-fashioned e-commerce payment method of cash on delivery (COD), Aung commented:

E-commerce players don’t really want cash on demand. It’s still a cost factor for e-commerce sites. The possibility of delivery people running off with money and the processing of the cash. That’s where 2C2P comes in, as a safer and more secure alternative to COD. Since we contracted with Laos Airlines, three years ago, they haven’t had one fraud through us.

Speaking about 123, 2C2P’s new service versus credit and debit cards, Aung said:

We’re basically a stepping stone for developing countries who don’t have debit cards. What we do is out-optimize COD.

And he talked more about the success of his business, which was my favorite part. When Willis asked Aung how easy it was to copy 2C2P, he had some great insights on relationships:

Yes. You could copy what we do, our technology is out there. But it would take at least six months to a year to get to where we are today. 2C2P is the sum of its relationships. It took us years to build up the relationships we have with our clients. We personally know all the bankers that we work with from high level management to lower level management. That is very difficult to copy.

The future of 2C2P

Currently, Currently 2C2P operates in Myanmar, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, and Singapore. But now Aung is looking at Vietnam. He just met five potential partners in Vietnam.

You can catch the full video below, which has a bunch of juicy details and nuances that Aung covers.

Also read: 2C2P Allows Millions of ‘Unbanked’ Thais Purchase Online