Soft Space, a Malaysian fintech-as-a-service startup, has established a strategic alliance with JCB Co., a Japanese multinational payment brand.
JCB has invested $5 million in Soft Space as part of this. The partnership will take advantage of the Kula Lumpur-based company’s business strategy, technology, and regulatory expertise, as well as JCB’s global awareness, extensive partnerships, and brand reach.
This investment is part of Soft Space’s initial round of fundraising, with more to come in the future.
JCB owns and runs one of Japan’s largest payment systems, with over 37 million businesses and 140 million cardholders globally. It plans to grow the brand internationally by utilizing its Asian strengths, particularly in Southeast Asia.
In order to achieve this, JCB has designated Southeast Asia as a priority business-enhancement region. Last June, it opened its ASEAN Commercial Enhancement and Creation Department in Singapore to look for business possibilities in the area.
The cooperation also involves the growth of JCB’s merchant network, the construction of card issuing solutions, and the provision of consumer marketing solutions, with the goal of maximizing synergies between the two parties.
Other areas of collaboration include enhanced merchant acceptance, mobility-as-a-service (MaaS), and transit; payment gateways; cards-as-a-service (CaaS); white label services, API platform services, and technical support services; and white label services, API platform services, and technical support services.
Soft Space was founded in 2012 with the goal of simplifying the complexity of financial infrastructure and providing businesses with value-added features to help them flourish.
Soft Space is backed by MDEC’s Global Acceleration and Innovation Network (GAIN) initiative and got financial support from MIDA’s Domestic Investment Strategic Fund in 2012. Its payment solutions have been used by over 30 financial institutions in 10 countries.
