Capital A partners with UnionDigital Bank for SEA expansion

The aim is to push the expansion of BigPay, Capital A’s fintech arm, in Southeast Asian markets including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines. This effort also involves Capital A’s two other subsidiaries: airline business AirAsia and the AirAsia Super App.

As part of the deal, UnionDigital Bank will partner with BigPay to provide embedded finance within the super app’s travel category, which is the main booking channel for AirAsia flights in the Philippines.

The digibank will also handle flexible payment options for Capital A’s customers, including making “fly now, pay later” available on the super app.

The deal comes on the heels of the appointment of Zubin Rada Krishnan as acting group CEO of BigPay.

In April, the firm said it has 1.3 million transacting and carded users and recently achieved US$224 million in gross transaction value on its international remittance service.

Tony Fernandes, the CEO of Capital A, reportedly confirmed that listing AirAsia Philippines on the local stock exchange is not currently part of his plans, potentially marking another delay in the fundraising plan that was initially conceived in 2015.