The integration of members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) into an Economic Community has offered both opportunities and challenges for nations in the bloc that the world relies on to drive global growth.

Collective growth of ASEAN is seen to hit 4.6 percent this year, zooming past advanced economies’ 1.9 percent, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

E-commerce in the region has emerged as a major economic contributor, with Indonesians as the projected top spenders, shelling out a total of $150 billion by 2030 from $65 billion last year, data from global market researcher Statista reveals.

Meanwhile, as the Philippines expands its digital infrastructure, the researcher expects Filipino e-commerce to reach $60 billion from $21 billion.

Ksher, a cross-border and digital payment solutions provider founded by Chinese entrepreneur Bryan Zhou, is riding on an e-commerce boom by accelerating its services to Filipino small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

“We have a big team here and we’re growing our reach to Filipino SMEs for them to trade intra-Asean,” Ksher Philippines president Siva Kumar Indrasen Ramanathan told the DAILY TRIBUNE on its online show Straight Talk.

Based on Ksher’s data, the Philippines remains a “lucrative” market as the country has made up 50 percent of the firm’s sales transactions since it started operations just two and half years ago.

Established in 2016, Ksher International offers digital payment collection to businesses outside China. Aside from Asean, its clients include firms in the Middle East and Japan. Ksher has sealed partnerships with over 100,000 merchants outside China.

“We will provide you with the infrastructure to collect your payments. This benefits Filipino SMEs selling goods to Malaysia which must get payments in Ringgit to the Philippines. Everything can be done in your little workspace,” Ramanathan said.

As its competitive edge, he said Ksher offers SMEs affordable service to ensure they can always draw enough funds from their working capital.

After nearly six decades, the Asean grew its economy to $4.1 trillion in gross domestic product last year from $24 billion in 1967, making the region the world’s fourth largest economy, according to the International Economic Association.

At the top is the United States, followed by China and Germany.

While global institutions expect China to post relatively slower economic growth this year due to weak demand in real estate, Ramanathan said China’s previous business landscape inspired Ksher’s founder to help non-Chinese enterprises scale up.

“Bryan’s (Zhou) startup managed mobile payments and as he was walking around, he saw the trend in China happening also in Asean,” Ramanathan shared.

According to the World Economic Forum, Asean has the most internet users in the world, with 125,000 users daily and a projected $1 trillion contribution to the regional economy within the decade.

While the Philippines-China conflict over the West Philippine Sea has stirred hostile perceptions on China-linked products, Ramanathan said Ksher aims to generate more jobs by helping Filipino SMEs sell products overseas in a safe and cost-efficient manner.

“We want to prove that we’re not for Chinese invasion,” Ramanathan stressed.

“We invest in hiring people in each country and we don’t hide the fact that we are on the ground talking to the people,” he added.

Ramanathan said the Philippines’ huge population and other economic resources can help other ASEAN SMEs grow together.

“Chinese firms might relocate. They will hire local workers, perhaps on entry-level jobs initially, rent space, and assemble products here before selling overseas,” he said.

To build a more robust trade environment, Ramanathan suggests green lanes, which are being practiced in the Philippines, for select Asean goods.

“These kinds of products do not have to go to customs because we trust our systems. I hope that is one thing that will happen,” he said.

Among Ksher’s aim is to provide insights to the government on becoming less reliant on Chinese imports amid global economic uncertainties, especially as a result of Trump’s anti-China trade policies.

“Filipino SMEs have to step up but improvements can be made, maybe through exposure to different ways of thinking,” Ramanathan said.

“We want to encourage SMEs to de-risk from China, and we want China to buy goods from the Philippines,” he continued.

Ksher also seeks collaboration with local associations of financial technology firms, the Department of Trade and Industry, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, and other regulators to ease trade and payments in the country.

Recalling the growth of Chinese e-commerce, Ramanathan said Ksher plans to create a roaming e-wallet for Filipino and other global consumers and businesses so they can transact everywhere.

“The first problem when we started was helping Chinese tourists who use e-wallets. They assume they can use their wallets everywhere,” he said.

The ironic thing here is Southeast Asia has a small population but so many e-wallets. Malaysia has 40 wallets compared to China with 7 billion people but only has two e-wallets (Alipay and WeChat Pay),” Ramanathan added.

Ramanathan said the payment collection data from Filipino SMEs will enable Ksher to offer affordable loans in the future.

“The ultimate aim is to provide more financial services to SMEs. They can’t go to banks and get working capital. Even if they do, SMEs are charged with high interest rates,” he said.

“We are in the position to do that because we know which SME customers have good financial capabilities,” Ramanathan added.

He shared that Ksher has begun talks with investors to provide lending services to SMEs.

A report from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) says Filipino SMEs seek around P67 billion to P180 billion in business loans to sustain and expand their operations.

ADB says SMEs usually do not keep formal records of their finances in the form of bank accounts which banks primarily require before approving loans.