CapitaLand is introducing e-payment service StarPay with the aim of generating business opportunities for retailers and enhancing convenience for shoppers.
It is in line with Singapore’s Smart Nation drive.
For shoppers, StarPay will be incorporated as an in-app feature on CapitaStar to enable transactions with participating retailers using different e-payment modes, including debit and credit cards, QR codes and international payment apps.
For retailers, StarPay is a key component of the CapitaLand Digital Merchant Services Suite (DMSS), which is built with digital enablers in four focus areas, namely analytics, transactions, rewards and operations.
More than 2500 stores in 17 CapitaLand malls across Singapore will be equipped with StarPay smart terminals by the end of this year. The terminal is designed as a versatile all-in-one e-payment service accommodating multiparty systems. As well as StarPay, CapitaLand DMSS handles deals and vouchers, has customer analytics dashboards, and offers “Loyalty as a Service”, allowing retailers to use the CapitaStar engine as their own loyalty programs.
StarPay was announced at CapitaLand’s Biz+ Series seminar at Raffles City Singapore attended by about 300 representatives from CapitaLand’s network of retailers. Also present were representatives from StarPay’s e-payment mode partners American Express, GrabPay, Nets, DBS and Alipay.
‘Unified view’
“CapitaLand’s relationship with its shoppers and retailers is the cornerstone of our real estate as a service expertise in our retail business,” says CapitaLand Group president/group CEO Lim Ming Yan. “The CapitaLand DMSS system, through data analytics, provides us with a unified view of the shopper-retailer-mall ecosystem.”
Lim says that ultimately the group wants to create a seamless experience where it is easier for shoppers to find what they want, pay for the item how they like, be rewarded instantly with STAR$ and enjoy better customer service around the clock.
“For CapitaLand retailers, we strive to translate insights into business outcomes be that increased productivity, improved sales or better customer service.”
“Innovation, collaboration and experience are the strategic thrusts underpinning our vision to future-enable our malls and retail services in this age of disruption,” says CapitaLand Retail CEO Wilson Tan. CapitaStar has been a key plank of CapitaLand’s customer and retailer engagement strategy since it blazed a trail in 2011 to garner 5.7 million members across Asia today.
“With the addition of StarPay, we are incentivising shoppers to embrace e-payment with rewards to encourage spending at CapitaLand malls.”
He says that from inventory to customer relationship management, the company is looking into integrating payment with other data streams to enhance the omnichannel strategy of its retailers through the smart terminals.
StarPay will be rolled out progressively, starting with Raffles City Singapore on 18 April. American Express card members will be the first to use StarPay, and there will be customer incentives during the launch promotion.
