Atome exits Hong Kong market after 3 years, refocuses in SEA business

Buy now pay later brand Atome has decided to pause its business in Hong Kong after three years due to unpredictable and depressed macro environment. The last transaction date was on 31 March.

In a conversation with MARKETING-INTERACTIVE, Atome’s spokesperson said the company made a conscious and planned decision to pause its business in Hong Kong at the start of the year due to unpredictable and depressed macro environment for the foreseeable future.

“We have since refocused our resources on growing our core business in Southeast Asia, which remains healthy with strong and sustainable customer and transaction volume growth,” said the spokesperson.

While in Hong Kong, Atome’s priority now is to ensure an orderly pause of business, and to keep its partners, merchants and customers informed and updated through appropriate channels.

“Payment plans for customers with transactions made on or before 31 March remain unchanged, meaning they still need to pay off their plan on time so as not to incur administrative charges,” added the spokesperson.

The company’s operations and customer service teams continue to support merchants and customers with any existing transactions or enquiries, said the spokesperson.

Launched in December 2019, Atome has partnered with over 5,000 leading online and offline retailers across fashion, beauty, lifestyle, fitness and homeware. Its service is available in nine markets across Southeast Asia and Greater China. Atome is part of Advance Intelligence Group, a Series-D AI-driven technology company headquartered in Singapore, with operations across South and Southeast Asia, Latin America and Greater China. It entered the Hong Kong market in 2020. 

Don't miss: Watsons expands Atome partnership to Philippines

Over the years, Atome has expanded its footprint across APAC region by partnering with different brands. Back in December 2022, Watsons partnered with Atome to offer flexible deferred payment options across 947 outlets in the Philippines as well as purchases through its physical stores, website and mobile app. In August last year, Atome also launched the first Atome Card in the Philippines.

In August 2022, Atome collaborated with Huawei to reward HUAWEI AppGallery users that use Atome for their purchases. This partnership allowed shopping lovers to split and pay for products and services, including Huawei's in installments. Huawei users can also use Atome to purchase Huawei devices at all Huawei stores. Atome's partners that are available for AppGallery users to shop with this attractive offer include Agoda, ZALORA, SHEIN and Zara.

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