Liquid Group to Partner With Aplus to Open Up Japan Market for Cross-Border QR Payment

Liquid Group Pte. Ltd. (“Liquid Group”), a leading cross-border digital payments provider, and Aplus Co. Ltd. (“Aplus”), a leading payment and consumer credit company, today announced their partnership, which will enable cross-border QR payments for inbound transactions in Japan. Aplus becomes Liquid Group’s first XNAP acquirer in Japan, and XNAP digital wallets will be progressively accepted across Aplus’ nationwide merchant network in Japan.

This partnership ensures multiple XNAP digital wallets from multiple nations, initially from Singapore, to be accepted by Aplus’ nationwide merchants in Japan. Liquid Group’s XNAP platform now extends to major markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, China, and South Korea. The XNAP digital wallets in these markets will be able to expand into the Japan market as soon as they are ready, through Aplus’ merchant network.

Liquid Group, headquartered in Singapore, operates XNAP, a regional QR payment acceptance network that enables the cross-border acceptance of payment schemes and digital payment apps.

Aplus, as the main subsidiary of Shinsei Bank, offers comprehensive financial services for consumers and merchants, including consumer credit services, settlement services, acquiring of merchants for domestic and foreign QR code payments and so on. Aplus is a principal member of major international payment networks for both issuing and acquiring roles.

Jeremy Tan, Founder and CEO of Liquid Group, commented “We are thrilled to collaborate with Aplus as our first acquiring partner in the Japan market. After close to two years of minimal cross-border travel, we are honoured to partner with Aplus and their merchants to support the resumption of cross border tourist spending as travel gradually opens across the Asia Pacific. We look forward to a successful 2022 ahead with Aplus.”

Tetsuro Shimizu, CEO of Aplus, said “Aplus has been promoting multi-acquiring of overseas code payments since 2016 when we became Wechat Pay’s first acquirer in Japan. With the launch of Liquid Group’s XNAP, we will be able to provide payment services in a wide range of countries, starting with Singapore. We are honored to launch XNAP in Japan, and we will further expand its payment services to Japanese merchants to enhance the customer experience for inbound tourists in Japan.”

About Liquid Group

Liquid Group is a leading fintech company headquartered in Singapore with a presence across the Asia-Pacific. It operates XNAP Network (www.xnap.network), an open API-based QR payment acceptance network that enables the cross-border acceptance of bank and non-bank QR wallets and payment apps across multiple markets in the region.

Liquid Group also provides domestic and cross-border corporate payment solutions for companies across B2B and B2C segments.

Liquid Group is regulated as a Major Payment Institution by the Monetary Authority of Singapore to conduct Account Issuance Service, E-money Issuance Service, Merchant Acquisition Service, Domestic Money Transfer Service, and Cross-border Money Transfer Service. It is also a Non-Bank Financial Institution participant of Singapore’s PayNow and FAST network.

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