Indonesian Crypto POS Maker Pundi X Labs Eyes S Korean Market with New Partnership

Indonesian point-of-sale (POS) terminal maker Pundi X Labs (Pundi X) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with South Korean smart cards maker Ubivelox on Thursday to support the deployment and development of its devices in South Korea, Pundi X said in a statement.

Pundi X’s innovative POS terminal, called Pundi XPOS, supports cryptocurrency payments as well as transactions through mobile wallets including Alipay and WeChat Pay and payment cards. All Pundi X devices are connected to the Ethereum and NEM blockchain. The company’s latest model supports 13 cryptocurrencies.

Pundi X also offers the XPASS cards, a smart card that allows users to buy, sell and trade cryptocurrencies, as well as purchase daily items.

The agreement between Pundi X and Ubivelox will also see the two companies collaborating on varied cryptocurrency business streams, including the development and distribution of XPASS cards for payment, the development of a mobile payment system for cryptocurrencies, and support for security technology for commercial cryptocurrency use on the XPOS device.  

For Ubivelox, the deal marks the firm’s entry into the cryptocurrency space. South Korean Ubivelox specializes in smart card, mobile and security technologies. The company’s products are used in the banking and finance, telecommunication, and transportation fields, as well as national ID cards.

“The idea behind Pundi X, to make cryptocurrencies easy to use in real life, can be realized more quickly and safely by combining with our smart card technology, patents, and products,” said Jae Kwan Kim, senior vice president of Ubivelox, who led the development of the business affiliation with Pundi X.

Zac Cheah, CEO and co-founder of Pundi X, said that having Ubivelox as a partner for the development of the XPASS smart card and security solutions will be a major boost to Pundi X’s global rollout.

Pundi X has been actively partnering with payment gateways, global distributors and IT companies to expand its reach.

Prior to its entry to South Korea, Pundi X secured domestic and overseas merchants. Earlier this month, Pundi XPOS made its in-store debut in Hong Kong as part of a pilot test deployment. The startup partnered with locally-sourced, organic restaurant chain FAMA Group to have devices installed in stores and allow customers to settle bills in cryptocurrencies.

As of today, the company claims it has received 5,000 pre-orders for its XPOS devices from Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, and has made contracts for 20,000 XPOS devices with the NEM Foundation over the next three years.

Founded in 2017, Pundi X currently has offices in Jakarta, London, Shenzhen, Tokyo, Singapore, and Sao Paulo. The startup is aiming to have up to 100,000 XPOS devices installed throughout Southeast Asia by 2021.