HONG KONG, Dec. 17, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- While the world is reshaping global economic landscape, Chinese companies had begun to embark on a new wave of international expansion. As a fundamental component of economic activities, payment services play a key part, and is the area where Chinese technology companies are working on to create the digital financial infrastructure that supports Chinese enterprises going global. In the process, a number of outstanding companies have emerged, such as the Hong Kong listed company Yeahka (9923.HK).
According to Yeahka's latest data, in Q3 of 2024, the total Gross Payment Volume (GPV) increased by 7.9% quarter-on-quarter, with continued improvements on average value per transaction, average daily transaction counts, and peak daily transaction counts. The company's overseas business, a key focus in recent years, saw a nearly 50% year-on-year growth in Q3.
Yeahka attributes this growth to two key factors: One is the expansion of its merchant base through Visa and Mastercard payment channels, which now include automobile dealerships, entertainment venues, and one-stop self-service payment machine providers. Another key factor is the partnership with overseas companies the company has invested in, allowing Yeahka to jointly promote digital merchant solutions, thus expanding its service offerings.
It is important to note that the competitive environment Yeahka faces abroad is significantly different from that in China. While the domestic payment industry has already undergone a full transition from card-based payments to account-based payments, many overseas markets are still in the process of making this shift. Chinese payment companies are approximately 2-3 years ahead of their international counterparts in terms of both product and service.
As an experienced payment institution, Yeahka has evolved from traditional POS acquiring to QR code-based acquiring, and now offers integrated payment services that also include in-store e-commerce services to merchants. Its deep understanding of both card-based and account-based payment systems gives Yeahka a competitive edge, enabling the company to leverage its domestic products and services in international markets. This capability is a key driver of Yeahka's overseas business expansion. Therefore, in responding to market demands, Yeahka focuses on providing comprehensive empowerments to merchants—this approach fosters greater merchant loyalty and provides sustainable gross margin compared to traditional payment solutions.
Since the beginning of 2024, Yeahka's overseas payment business has experienced rapid growth. The company has successfully secured partnerships with internationally renowned brands such as Bvlgari, Chow Tai Fook Jewelry, Rolex, MCM, and Bee Cheng Hiang, boosting its brand recognition.
In addition, Yeahka's in-store e-commerce business also performed well in Q3, with the number of partnering merchants increasing by 7.8% quarter-on-quarter to 19,500. Merchant loyalty and willingness to pay have continued to strengthen, the per merchant contribution to revenue and profit and per personnel revenue and profit have all shown quarter-on-quarter growth in Q3.
Looking at Yeahka's Q3 business performance, its one-stop payment services continue to show strong growth and maintain its leading market position, laying a solid foundation for the company's sustainable development. Meanwhile, the rapid expansion of its overseas business and improvements in in-store e-commerce present significant future growth opportunities for Yeahka.
Despite the challenges posed by the global capital market environment and geopolitical turbulences, Yeahka's management remain confident in the company's robust fundamentals and long-term growth prospects.
It was reported that the founder of Yeahka has made a personal buyback of 175,600 shares on December 13th. Previously, Yeahka had also announced the company's ongoing share repurchase plans. As by the interim result of 2024, Yeahka has cumulatively purchased approximately 75 million shares through its Restricted Share Unit plan and has cumulatively used HKD 155 million to repurchase shares in the open market.