Posted by Singapore, 20 June 2018 – Carousell, one of the world’s largest and fastest growing classifieds marketplaces, today launches CarouPay. CarouPay is the company’s first integrated payment system for users to buy and sell more conveniently and with greater assurance. The feature is developed in partnership with leading financial institutions DBS, Stripe and Visa.
Carousellers are now able to pay directly within the app using DBS PayLah!, credit or debit cards. With tens of thousands of transactions happening on Carousell every day, CarouPay is expected to enhance the user experience for today’s consumers who value safer, easier and faster buying and selling on mobile.
“With the support of our industry-leading payment and tech partners, we are offering a long-awaited feature to improve our users’ buying and selling experience, making it easier and safer to make a purchase for those who can’t find time to meet up,” said Jia Jih Chai, Senior Vice President, Business Division, Carousell.
“Everyone has unused or underused items that can benefit others. Carousell was built to allow people to ‘snap, list, sell’ these items easily. With the help from our partners, DBS, Stripe and Visa, CarouPay allows the Carousell community to sell their underused items even faster and safer with cashless convenience.”
CarouPay is designed to enhance Carousell’s core buying and selling experience. Sellers can enable CarouPay as a payment option when listing their items, reaching more buyers who prefer to transact online. They can also deal more confidently on the marketplace with the commitment from buyers. Buyers now also transact with greater peace of mind, as CarouPay will hold onto the funds until they have received the item as expected.
The flow of pay-ins and pay-outs is powered by Stripe Connect, Stripe’s solution for multi-sided marketplaces and platforms. Once verified, sellers will be able to receive their payments from Carousell directly into their bank accounts or immediately on their Visa debit cards using Stripe’s Instant Payouts feature. Carousellers who prefer to meet up can still continue to do so for physical inspection of items or simply to swap stories and build friendships.
CarouPay improves the Carousell experience in three ways:
- When a buyer makes a purchase via CarouPay, Carousell holds the payment and first verifies the transaction before cashing out to sellers. This gives assurance to both seller and buyer in case of dispute.
- As an additional layer of protection, users who do not receive their item as described, or do not receive their tracked mail can raise an issue with the seller or escalate it to Carousell. Funds will be held by Carousell until a resolution is met.
- For orders fulfilled via SingPost’s SmartPacs and registered mail, a live delivery status will also be available and updated in-app on Carousell so both parties can track where the item is.
More than 70,000 listings have been enabled with CarouPay today. Together with Carousell’s efforts to advance AI-driven initiatives in Smart Listings, personalised browsing and predictive chat, the company’s latest string of achievements and strategic partnerships represent its commitment to continuously add value and improve trust on the marketplace.
“We seek to seamlessly integrate banking into our customers’ everyday lives so that banking becomes simpler and easier for them. Over the years, we have enhanced our digital channels to enable customers to transact fuss-free across multiple touch-points. We will continue to seek opportunities to work with various partners to build inclusive digital ecosystems,” said Gene Wong, Head of Ecosystems of Consumer Banking Group, DBS Bank. “As Singapore’s most popular mobile wallet with more than a million users, DBS PayLah! will offer Carousell users an easy and convenient checkout process with just a few simple clicks.”
“Businesses like Carousell are fundamentally changing commerce, rapidly transforming the way we buy and sell online. Marketplaces are also incredibly complex, and need to manage multiple pay-ins and pay-outs simultaneously. We continue to develop tools that make it easier for high growth businesses like Carousell to scale online. We are excited to work with Carousell to make managing these complex fund flows simpler and more seamless for their users,” said Piruze Sabuncu, Head of Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, Stripe.
In celebration of the launch, Carousell users can enjoy greater savings when using CarouPay. Buyers can take S$5 off their first CarouPay purchase via DBS PayLah! using the promo code ‘TAKE5LAH’, when they spend a minimum of S$20 by 19 July. For DBS and POSB cardholders and DBS PayLah! users, payment fees will be waived.
CarouPay is now available to Carousell users in Singapore on iOS and Android mobile devices. The in-app payment feature will be fully integrated into the desktop version by July 2018. To learn more, please visit: https://carousell.com/caroupay/.
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About Carousell
Carousell is a classifieds marketplace that makes selling as easy as taking a photo, buying as simple as chatting. Launched in August 2012, Carousell began in Singapore and now has a presence in seven markets across Asia. With over 144 million listings, we are one of the world’s largest and fastest growing marketplaces in Southeast Asia, Taiwan and Hong Kong, and is backed by Rakuten Ventures, Sequoia India, 500 Startups, Golden Gate Ventures, DBS and EDBI. The Carousell marketplace has a diverse range of products across a variety of categories, including cars, lifestyle, gadgets and fashion accessories. Download the app for iOS or Android, and visit www.carousell.com for more information.
About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia, with over 280 branches across 18 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS has a growing presence in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank’s “AA-” and “Aa1” credit ratings, are among the highest in the world.
DBS is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, and has been named “World’s Best Digital Bank” by Euromoney. The bank has also been recognised for its leadership in the region, having been named “Asia’s Best Bank” by several publications including The Banker, Global Finance, IFR Asia and Euromoney since 2012. In addition, the bank has been named “Safest Bank in Asia” by Global Finance for nine consecutive years from 2009 to 2017.
DBS provides a full range of services in consumer, SME and corporate banking. As a bank born and bred in Asia, DBS understands the intricacies of doing business in the region’s most dynamic markets. DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, and positively impacting communities through supporting social enterprises, as it banks the Asian way. It has also established a SGD 50 million foundation to strengthen its corporate social responsibility efforts in Singapore and across Asia.
With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. The bank acknowledges the passion, commitment and can-do spirit in all of its 26,000 staff, representing over 40 nationalities. For more information, please visit www.dbs.com.
About Stripe
Stripe is a technology company that builds economic infrastructure for the internet. Businesses of every size—from new startups to public companies like Salesforce and Facebook—use Stripe’s software to accept online payments and run technically sophisticated financial operations in more than 100 countries. Headquartered in San Francisco, with nine global offices in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, Stripe helps new companies get started and grow their revenue, and established businesses accelerate into new markets and launch new business models. Over the long term, Stripe aims to increase the GDP of the internet.
About Visa
Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network – enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of connected commerce on any device, and a driving force behind the dream of a cashless future for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit www.visa.com.sg.
Carousell Press 