Khalti Digital Wallet Teams With Cinemas; Trinity Technology Receives Mobile Money License

Welcome to The Axis, your late look at payments news from around the world. Coverage includes Khalti Digital Wallet’s collaboration with cinemas in Nepal. In addition, Trinity Technology has reportedly received an operational license for mobile money in South Sudan, and Thailand’s Bangkok Bank (BBL) is predicting that 90 percent of transactions will be completed by mobile apps over the next three years. 

Khalti Digital Wallet is teaming up with cinemas in Nepal to allow moviegoers to book tickets through its website and app, the company said in an announcement. The theaters involved in the collaboration are Q’s Cinemas, FCUBE Cinemas, BSR Movies and Mid-Town Galleria. Khalti Director Amit Agrawal said in the announcement, “We are continuously evolving and innovating towards building a hassle-free digital payment ecosystem. This partnership with the four theaters is another step in that direction. We are adding many more features and services on Khalti very soon.” As it stands, the platform allows users to buy tickets for flights and make payments for eCommerce shopping websites in the country, among other uses.

In South Sudan, Trinity Technology has reportedly received an operational license from the country’s National Communication Authority to roll out a system for mobile money transfers, Chimpreports noted. National Communication Authority Director General Ladu Kenyi noted that the service would make it quicker to send money to relatives of the South Sudanese in other countries. “The services will positively transform the financial payment landscape of our country thereby bringing prosperity to our young country and its people,” Kenyi said, according to the report. In addition, Chimpreports noted that the occasion marks the first time since 2011 that a local firm was given the opportunity to create a service for mobile money to encompass the country as well as the East African Bloc.

And, in Thailand, Bangkok Bank (BBL) is forecasting that 90 percent of transactions such as payments and fund transfers will be completed through mobile apps during the next three years, Bangkok Post reported. And, after the bank waived transaction fees in March, digital transactions jumped by 130 percent. It was also noted that brick-and-mortar branch transactions declined by roughly 10 percent following that change and bill payments as well as money transfers experienced a “sharp decline,” according to the report. “As more people go cashless, ATM transactions are expected to fall and the number of terminals will exceed the saturation point soon,” BBL Executive Vice President Prassanee Ouiyamaphan said, according to the report.