Pay&Go Aims to Streamline Bill Payments With New Services

A local company has begun working in cooperation with ABA bank to streamline payments for services such as electricity bills and mobile phone top-ups by allowing people to pay through its website, mobile applications and electronic kiosks.

PayGo SEA (Cambodia) Co. Ltd., which operates under the brand pay&go, also allows users to deposit money for online shopping by using a credit card, PayPal or cash.

Companies using the service include mobile operators MobiTel and Smart, as well as utility provider Electricite du Cambodge and local shopping outlet Little Fashion.

Evgeniy Kagay, general manager of pay&go, declined to comment Wednesday, despite inviting a reporter to the company’s offices inside ABA headquarters on Sihanouk Boulevard.

“I’m unable to provide details,” he said.

A report on PayGo SEA (Cam­bo­­dia) Co. Ltd. by D&B, a U.S.-based global commercial database for businesses, says its director is Gairat Khasbiullin.

Igor Zimarev, marketing officer at ABA, said it has no af­fil­i­ation with pay&go, but is cooperating with them to learn more about cash-in payments made via kiosks.

“There is no affiliation with this company. They came up with the idea and we’re interested in it, and that’s why we went into cooperation with them,” he said. “They provide us with the technology and service, and we integrate the service within our platform.”

According to pay&go’s website, its services are also available in other countries, including Sri Lanka and the Maldives.

Pay&go’s website and Facebook page say it was founded in 2011 and entered the Cambodian market about a year ago, but it only began offering some services—such as the kiosks—within the past few months.

The kiosks let pay&go users, as well as any customer of the more than a dozen partners listed, pay for mobile phone credit and other bills by selecting the service and inserting cash.

On Wednesday, at one of the machines attached to a minimart at the corner of streets 51 and 302, a cashier working at the mart said she sees at least 30 people per day—both foreigners and locals—use the kiosk during her 12-hour shift.

The kiosk services are available in both English and Khmer.

It remains unclear how popular pay&go will become in Cambodia.

Vichea In, owner of Little Fashion, said that no one has paid at the shop’s online store using pay&go since his company became a partner in June. “We want to try it,” he said.

While telecommunications executives welcomed the service, some said few subscribers are using it.

Ian Watson, CEO of MobiTel, said the number of users topping up their phone credit using pay&go is “minimal.”

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