The social business market in Southeast Asia is worth more than $13 billion, but the process is fraught with conflict. Many sellers don’t have an online storefront and instead use social media and messaging apps, meaning payments are made by switching to banking apps or wallets.
This means lower conversion rates, say Beam’s founders. The Thailand-based startup created a one-click payment solution for social commerce sellers and raised $2.5 million in seed funding led by Sequoia Capital India and Southeast Asia Surge with participation from Partech Partners.
Beam in 2010 It was founded in 2019 by Nathapat Chaimanowong, Mike Chinakrit Piamchon and Win Vareekasem. Frustrated with the repetitive process of filling out information for things like memberships, credit cards and visas, the three began working on a business idea to streamline form filling, which turned into Beam.
Beam founders Nathapat Chaimanowong, Mike Chinakrit Piamchon and Win Vareekasem Image Credits: Radiation
Varekasam told TechCrunch that after building several MVPs, the team found that retailers were one of the biggest groups facing the problem. “Form filling alone couldn’t solve sales transactions, so payments had to be integrated as well, finally recognizing the huge and pressing problem we were after.”
Many social commerce sellers require peer-to-peer mobile banking apps, meaning they receive payments by sharing account numbers. This can lead to poor conversions due to limited payment options and more work to manage payments.
Beam says the scan process takes just 20 seconds. It accepts major payment service providers like BNPL leaders Atom and Pace in every market and claims vendors have increased checkout success by up to 30% using the payment solution. Sellers save money by paying lower transaction fees because they don’t have to pay the subscription and platform fees that e-commerce marketplaces pay.
Beam generates revenue by charging a flat percentage of each transaction based on its payment method. For example, it charges 2.95% for credit card transactions. His typical customers are medium-sized businesses that process a few hundred orders per day and sell in the fashion, beauty, home and lifestyle, and electronics sectors.
Beam is currently focused on Thailand, with plans to expand to Southeast Asia. While there are other startups focused on removing friction from social marketing, such as Opeper, Vareekasem Beam differentiates itself by focusing on an end-to-end user checkout experience for buyers and merchants, ensuring that the former is just a click away. Shop online.
