Singapore-based mobile marketplace Carousell recently raised US$85 million in a Series C funding round, counting DBS Bank as its newest investor.
With this newly-injected capital, Carousell hopes to ramp up product innovation efforts to “reimagine classifieds in an AI-first world”.
In line with DBS Bank’s first-time investment in Carousell, both firms will be working together to offer financial products and payment services on Carousell’s platforms.
“Following feedback from our user community, we found that the payment experience is one of the limitations around buying and selling today,” said Carousell.
“Much like all of the product updates and features we embark on, we want to make sure we prioritise the development of features that will be beneficial for the majority of Carousell users.”
DBS To Help Build CarouPay
Its first joint initiative will see DBS to help build and implement Carousell’s mobile wallet CarouPay.
Set to launch this month, CarouPay will allow buyers to complete transactions without leaving the app.
This feature will reduce reliance on third-party fund transfer platforms and users also no longer to conduct meet-ups to make cash payments.
If CarouPay is successful, it will become an additional source of revenue for the firm as it takes a nominal fee of 4.98% + S$0.50 (US$0.37) for all successful transactions.
It is still unknown whether the buyer or seller will bear this transaction charge.
But while this feature is indeed convenient for buyers, these charges might hinder users from adopting this payment method and they might end up sticking to the traditional options of bank transfer or meet-ups instead.
What About DBS PayLah! On Carousell?
According to a DBS spokesperson, a “significant portion” of Carousell users are currently using DBS PayLah! – its own mobile wallet – to transact on the platform.
While the bank is “supportive of Caroupay”, he said that they will continue to work with Carousell to “find ways to make the checkout process more seamless.”
“Ubiquity in payments is key, and it’s a strategy that DBS has been pursuing for the last few years,” he added.
In other words, it is possible that Carousell will be integrating DBS PayLah! in its app.
Instead of developing a new mobile wallet, would an integration of existing services work as a better idea instead? Moreover, DBS PayLah! is free for users.
Featured Image Credit: Carousell
