Singtel Group signs pan-Asian partnership deal with Mobike

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Image credit: atiger / Shutterstock.com

The Singtel Group has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with bike-sharing company Mobike to collaborate on mobile payments, IoT, data analytics and marketing across Asia to enhance Mobike’s bike-sharing service.

This partnership extends across Singtel, Australian subsidiary operator Optus and regional associates Airtel, AIS, Globe, and Telkomsel, with a combined reach of over 585 million mobile customers in Asia.

Singtel and Mobike will work together to explore mobile payments for bike rides. Through the Singtel Open Platform, a group-wide payment gateway, the group’s mobile customers will be able to pay for trips using direct carrier billing or the group’s mobile wallets.

Since Mobike’s launch in 2016, its fleet of 7 million bikes have been equipped with smart IoT locks. Singtel and Mobike also intend to explore new IoT technology, such as eMTC and NB-IoT which will enable the smart bikes to be located more precisely even in areas that are technically challenging for mobile signals such as underground parking spaces. In addition to better and wider coverage, the new IoT technology will also help to reduce power consumption and extend the battery life of the smart locks.

Mobike’s AI platform currently generates over 30TB of data daily, which is analyzed for insights. Singtel and Mobike will explore the use of data analytics to improve the distribution of Mobike’s fleet for a better user experience and higher operational efficiency.

Additionally, Singtel Group will explore strategic marketing initiatives with Mobike to promote each other’s services – for example, the new Mobike Pass which allows users to have unlimited rides with zero deposit.

Mobike currently has a presence in over 200 cities around the world. Since its launch in Singapore in March this year, its first market outside of China, Mobike has continued to grow in the Asia Pacific region, launching in Japan, Thailand, Malaysia, Korea and Australia in recent months.

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