Google Play Integrates K PLUS via Antom Merchant Payment Service, Expanding Payment Options for Users in Thailand

• Integration of K PLUS marks the first Southeast Asian (SEA) banking app payment option on Google Play, as leaders from tech and financial sectors team up to drive growth and enhance user experience in Asia.
• Google Play to accelerate localized payment access in SEA with Ant International’s Antom to bring on more payment options.
• Antom is a strategic partner to Google Play in expanding payment options in APAC, driving growth in transactions and user acquisition.

SINGAPORE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Google Play, Ant International’s Antom and KASIKORNBANK today announced the launch of K PLUS as a new local payment method on Google Play, marking the first time that a SEA mobile banking app is made available as a payment option in the platform.

Google Play gives users one place to find, enjoy and share their favorite apps, games, books and more, for any Android device. K PLUS, operated by KASIKORNBANK, is one of SEA’s most widely used mobile banking apps. Its 14 million users on Android devices will be able to pay for global and local digital content on Google Play using their everyday banking app.

The rollout also marks the first time that Antom, the unified merchant payment service under Ant International, enables recurring payment capabilities on a banking app to support global enterprise merchants, building on its experience with digital wallets.

Antom has been a strategic partner to Google Play in expanding payment options in Asia Pacific (APAC), and continues driving growth in both transaction volumes and user acquisitions. With the K PLUS launch, Antom further strengthens its collaboration with Google Play, by adding digital wallets that serve millions of users in the region.

Leveraging its AI-driven solutions for payment orchestration, risk management and digital marketing, Antom supports merchants to integrate over 300 payment methods across over 100 currencies in its extensive global acquiring network.

The Asia Pacific region leads the world in digital payment adoption, accounting for nearly two-thirds of global digital wallet spend in 2024, according to a Deloitte report¹. In response to this growth, Antom has helped Google Play enable a growing list of leading payment options including DANA, GCash and Touch 'n Go eWallet since 2022. Google Play and Antom will continue to work together to increase local payment coverage and enhance payment experiences.

Beyond payments, Antom also supports Google Play in launching digital campaigns through its A+ Rewards, an in-App digital marketing platform powered by privacy-preserving computing and AI technologies. Embedded within leading e-wallets across Asia, A+Rewards connects Google Play with hundreds of millions of e-wallet users. Over 2023 and 2024, consumers claimed over 20 million Google Play vouchers from A+Rewards on regional e-wallets.

“Google Play is committed to continuously providing the best experience for users and supporting the growth of the digital ecosystem for developers. We're excited to announce that Google Play now supports K PLUS as a new payment option in Thailand,” said Zulfi Rahardian, Head of Google Play Retail & Payments Activation, Southeast Asia. “With this launch, we hope Thai consumers can purchase games, apps, entertainment and digital content more easily through safe, fast, and seamless transactions.”

“At KASIKORNBANK, we are committed to continuously enhancing our digital payment infrastructure to offer our customers a seamless, fast, and secure financial experience. This collaboration with Google Play and Antom expands payment choices for Google Play users in Thailand, allowing them to pay directly for apps and digital content by linking their account with K PLUS. We are proud to be the first bank in Thailand and SEA to enable mobile banking payments on Google Play. Today, we have around 14 million K PLUS users on Android, and our goal is to have more than 1 million linked accounts by the end of 2025,” said Dr. Ketchayong Skowratananont, Executive Vice President of KASIKORNBANK.

“Payment localisation isn't just about convenience. It's about building the infrastructure for digital inclusion,” said Gary Liu, General Manager of Antom, Ant International. “We're excited to expand our collaboration with Google Play by introducing K PLUS as a new payment option. With AI-powered solutions, we aim to make digital payments easier and more secure while helping merchants scale more efficiently.”

This collaboration forms a pillar of the broader strategic partnership between Google and Ant International.

About KASIKORNBANK

KASIKORNBANK PUBLIC COMPANY LIMITED operates business in line with the principles of a Bank of Sustainability, focusing on delivering sustainable value to all stakeholders. This is achieved through good corporate governance and appropriate risk and cost management.

KBank has unveiled our “3+1 Strategy and Productivity”, building our strengths and enhancing our capabilities in several areas. Our strategic priorities are to reinvigorate credit performance, scale our capital-lite fee income business, and strengthen and pioneer sales and service models to reaffirm K PLUS’s leadership. Concurrently, the Bank has implemented strategies to help create new revenue in the medium- and long-term, while also enhancing our competitiveness via key enablers including technology, scalable data and analytics, and being a performance-driven organization.

About Antom

Ant International's Antom is the leading payment and digitisation services provider for merchants around the world. It offers unified, vertical-specific digital payment solutions to serve businesses of all sizes. Antom supports merchants to integrate over 300 payment methods, enabling them to connect with consumers in more than 200 markets, with the flexibility to accept payments in more than 100 currencies. Beyond payments, it provides digital marketing solutions and merchant digitisation services to help merchant streamline operations and enhance customer engagement. To learn more, please visit https://www.antom.com/.

^1 Deloitte, Beyond Payments: Digitalization Trends in the Cross-Border Checkout Revolution, 2024