Unified, AI-enabled merchant services – the future of ecommerce?

Antom is a merchant services platform that supports digital commerce growth across the ASEAN region. By offering unified, AI-enabled solutions, it helps merchants, especially MSMEs, navigate a fragmented ecommerce ecosystem, improve operational efficiency, increase revenues, and strengthen customer engagement.

 

Tailor-made merchant services have long felt beyond the reach of micro-, small-, and medium‑sized enterprises (MSMEs) – which is something we are currently working to change at Antom. We aim to empower local MSMEs with the same level of innovation and capability to drive sustainable growth as cross-border merchants. In short, this means developing AI-powered Antom technology that helps MSMEs engage more customers.

In ASEAN, MSMEs account for 97.2%-99.9% of total establishments across member states. Regionally, MSMEs contribute 44.8% to the GDP. While access to finance has improved, many MSMEs still face challenges in navigating fragmented digital ecosystems, accessing market insights, and experiencing slow responses to market volatilities, insufficient funding channels, etc.

The adoption of e-wallets and mobile payments continues to rise in Southeast Asia, fuelled in particular by local payment solutions. Southeast Asian countries have their own dominant local payment methods, such as GoPay in Indonesia, Touch ‘n Go in Malaysia, MoMo in Vietnam, TrueMoney in Thailand, etc., while international credit cards and PayPal usage remain limited. Meanwhile, the per capita GDP gap within the region is substantial, with Singapore’s GDP exceeding Laos’ by over 30 times. To achieve scalable growth in markets with differing purchasing power, AI tools expanding overseas must integrate diverse local payment methods and adopt flexible, tiered-pricing, and value-added models.

With the global surge of GenAI, companies developing AI tools are increasingly exploring overseas markets to find new growth opportunities. Southeast Asia, home to about 700 million people – around 60% of whom are young and with a median age of just over 30 – is one of the world’s most promising digital consumer groups. The region boasts a smartphone penetration rate exceeding 70%, social media coverage over 60%, and rising adoption of e-wallets and mobile payments. Together, these factors have created a mobile-first and increasingly mature digital ecosystem. Meanwhile, Southeast Asian governments are actively implementing strategies such as ‘Smart Nation’ and ‘Digital Economy Blueprints’, providing a supportive policy environment for AI applications.

All-in-one transformation for MSMEs

At Antom we provide payment and digitalisation services to merchants around the world, including unified digital payment solutions to serve businesses of all sizes.

To further help businesses move from setup to scale efficiently, Antom’s focus is towards an all-in-one, AI-powered transformation platform. This unified system consolidates the POS, payments, banking, lending, digitisation, marketing, and other growth-enabling services into a single app. The EPOS360 app from Antom features an embedded AI assistant, enabling MSMEs to access all services provided by Antom, Alipay+, and ANEXT Bank under Ant International within minutes.

Through this unified approach, MSMEs can engage more customers. Merchants can set up online stores across Google Maps, partnering with e-wallets and other digital channels faster, and allowing consumers to find them and place orders more easily.

The EPOS360 app features a built-in AI-powered Antom Copilot that acts as a personal business assistant and analyst, helping merchants quickly create online stores, boost sales with omnichannel marketing, and monitor cash flows. It can suggest inventory adjustments, explain weekly performance shifts, or address payment issues. It also analyses competition and marketing campaign results to guide smarter decisions. The MSME-facing AI copilot identifies holidays, weather changes, competitors, and bundling opportunities to recommend timely promotions, generate content, and publish it across multiple digital channels for a seamless experience. 

The app also allows merchants to pair and configure their EPOS360 Bluetap, a smart over-the-counter terminal that accepts both QR and card payments in-store.

Accessible finance

The EPOS360 app integrates banking and financing capabilities, enabling businesses to manage funds and access credit easily. Merchants can open a free business account – without a minimum balance or transaction fees – and earn a competitive per annum daily interest rate on eligible balances. The platform also supports expansion, allowing merchants to hold multiple currencies.

Eligible merchants may also receive instant approval for loans upon signing up to address short-term needs, with higher limits and revenue-based financing options available as they grow. Upon expanding their business, their Antom-backed payments setup scales with them, enabling cross-border payments capabilities for foreign visitors.

The EPOS360 app currently serves Singapore MSMEs, particularly those in retail and food and beverage, and plans to expand to Malaysia in early 2026, with more markets to follow. The new tool includes a wide array of merchant services in a single unified AI-powered app. This further removes complexity for MSMEs, transforming daily operations into growth opportunities.

Ultimately, we aim to make advanced technologies and high-quality financial and digital services accessible to businesses of all sizes. By offering MSMEs customised support to operate more efficiently through a unified transformation platform, we can help merchants around the world streamline operations and connect with more customers through payments and far beyond.

 

This editorial piece was first published in The Paypers' Global Ecommerce Report 2026, which provides a complete overview of key trends and strategies to help businesses worldwide succeed. Download your free copy today to explore in-depth insights on global ecommerce trends, the latest innovations in payment solutions, and strategies to stay ahead in a competitive market.

 

About Antom

Ant International's Antom is a payment and digitisation services provider for merchants globally, offering unified, vertical-specific digital payment solutions for businesses of all sizes. Antom supports merchants to integrate over 300 payment methods, enabling them to connect with consumers in over 200 markets, and accept payments in over 100 currencies. Beyond payments, Antom provides digital marketing solutions and merchant digitisation services to help merchant streamline operations and enhance customer engagement.