DT Group of Companies (DTGO), a business organisation under Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, has set up Digitalife Corporation (DLC), a new company to expand into the digital business globally, diversifying for a new engine of growth.
DLC recently introduced the xCash app, an e-loyalty platform that turns loyalty points into cash to attract deal-hungry youngsters.
"DLC is a new business that we are investing in to capitalise on the growth of digital technology, with concepts such as e-loyalty, e-logistics, e-commerce and e-donation platforms that can expand internationally," said Raj Tanta-Nanta, president of DTGO.
DTGO earns 80% of revenue from Magnolia Quality Development Corporation (MQDC). The organisation plans to continue investing in potential new business such as hotels and overseas expansion.
International partners from China, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Europe and the US are purchasing DTGO properties, Mr Raj said.
"MQDC focuses on premium properties that are less impacted by slowdowns in the property market that affect the low-end market more," he said.
"We plan to spend up to 80 million baht to promote the xCash application to attract the younger generation at universities and the 60 million people who use credit and debit cards," said Vithit Arparpardh, president of DLC.
In a sluggish economy, xCash can help consumers save on expenses through its reward programme, Mr Vithit said.
He said each year Thai companies issue 60-70 billion baht in rewards points, while expired points are worth an estimated 600-700 million baht.
Nonti Suptasavee, senior vice-president of DLC, said consumers who download the app and register purchases of products and services from its partners will get points back at 1-20% of the total amount of the purchase, depending on the merchant.
Merchant partners range across lifestyle brands, food and drink, and travel.
"Our programme is unique because our reward points are multi-brand, unlike other existing reward points that can only be used in closed networks," Mr Nonti said.
Users can collect more points and redeem points on payments to merchants by using a mix of points with other payments like credit or debit cards. Consumers can transfer points from debit or credit cards or from TruePoint to xCash. Users can tie debit and credit cards to partner banks to purchase products.
The xCash platform is also compatible with Alipay, in a bid to attract Chinese tourists.
To promote xCash, DLC will buy TV ads and has hired actor Thanapat "Film" Kawila to market the product.
Users can download xCash via Apple's App Store or Google Play.
The app has 700,000 downloads and over 2,000 partner merchants. The expectation is for users to redeem 250 million points on the app by year-end.
"This app can help draw traffic to merchants as DLC promotes the app, while we will also earn revenue from marketing fees from merchant partners," Mr Nonti said.
