TikTok Shop strikes ‘buy now, pay later’ partnership in Malaysia as part of e-commerce push

TikTok struck a partnership with “buy now, pay later” service Atome to offer installment payments on its e-commerce marketplace in Malaysia, the latest in the company’s e-commerce push into Southeast Asia.

TikTok Shop will include Atome as a payment option, which would allow customers to spread deferred payments over three or six months.

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Atome is the BNPL arm of Singapore-based fintech firm Advance Intelligence Group, which is backed by major investors like SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and Warburg Pincus.

The partnership is expected to “drive growth” and “enable merchants and small businesses to offer their customers a convenient and flexible payment option,” Jonathan Low, e-commerce lead of strategy and special projects at TikTok Shop, said in a statement on Friday.

“By integrating Atome as a payment option on TikTok Shop, we’re excited to help drive ecommerce growth and support brands of all sizes,” said William Yang, head of commercial at Atome.

The partnership comes as TikTok looks to markets outside of the U.S. for growth. While the U.S. is the company’s largest market, TikTok faces headwinds there after Montana became the first state to ban the app. The app has also been banned in India.

In recent months, TikTok Shop has been aggressively expanding into e-commerce in Southeast Asia, competing against existing players like Sea’s Shopee and Alibaba’s Lazada.

TikTok’s CEO previously said the company will pour “billions of dollars” into Southeast Asia over the next few years. As of April, TikTok said it has more than 325 million monthly users in Southeast Asia.

In June, the company said it would invest $12.2 million to help over 120,000 small and medium-sized businesses sell online. The investment consists of cash grants, digital skills training and advertising credits for these businesses.