Singapore – Qashier, a financial technology startup, has recently announced the promotion of Travis Kok as the new senior vice president for Southeast Asia. This appointment comes shortly after he was appointed as the vice president for marketing and GTM last month.
In a recent exclusive interview with UpTech Media, Travis discussed his main responsibilities for this new leadership position, which include expanding the company’s presence in their current markets in Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines.
He also talked about his professional journey, highlighting the experiences that greatly contributed to his understanding of the different industries in the market. In fact, he has spent over a decade helping businesses scale through marketing and commercial excellence.
“Building the Qashier brand from its inception and expanding it to four countries has given me a deeper understanding of our merchants’ needs and pain points. This helped me realise the importance of tailoring solutions to meet the specific needs of businesses from different industries,” Travis told UpTech Media.
Travis also shared a strategy crucial to the company’s success, emphasising, “Embodying Qashier’s core value, which is merchant growth and success, our strategy involves deepening our relationships with our merchant partners and supporting their continuous growth.”
“We do this by empowering our merchant partners with tools that are effective, easy to use, and cost-efficient to succeed in today’s digital economy,” he further explained.
During his time as a VP of Marketing and GTM, he was further able to lead regional executions of new Qashier solutions and product launches. These sets of experiences allowed him to prepare the insights necessary to drive the company’s strategic growth and operational efficiency across the region.
Meanwhile, when asked about the adjustments brought by the transition, Travis characterised them as a “natural progression” for him.
A commitment to fintech growth
With the region’s rapidly increasing population and GDP, accelerating the growth of the fintech landscape is now within reach.
Travis views this as a significant market opportunity for many fintech firms to expand their presence and support more businesses in their digitalisation journey. However, he also pointed out that many SMEs continue to struggle with adopting digital technologies. With business solutions for small and medium enterprises often too expensive or too complicated, this leaves many SMEs with increasing operational costs.
Understanding this challenge as a vital point, Travis said, “We aim to bridge this gap by providing accessible and effective business solutions.”
He then elaborated on the fundamental objective the company is committed to, emphasising this mantra as one of the priorities he looks forward to prioritising in his new role.
More importantly, he asserted, “Qashier has always been a champion for SMEs, supporting local businesses with affordable, intuitive solutions to allow them to catch on with today’s digital and payment changes.”
As an example, Travis cited Qashier Treats as an innovative approach that enhances the customer journey. This payment-linked loyalty programme in Singapore and Malaysia leverages the integration of POS, payments, and loyalty features into a single solution, making customer journeys smoother and more satisfying. Since its launch in June, the company has already observed significant positive impacts on their merchants’ businesses.
“These results highlight how Qashier’s integrated solutions effectively drive business growth and improve customer experiences,” he further remarked.
Empowering a culture of resilience, hunger for growth
Drawing from his past experiences, on the other hand, Travis further shared his reflections on the importance of talent density, leadership, having a growth mindset, effective communication, and a commitment to excellence.
“At Qashier, we believe our people are our greatest assets, and we focus on nurturing talent through coaching and leadership development,” he said.
For him, this very culture underscores the value of resilience and a hunger for growth, which drives constant product enhancements and process improvements. This encompasses being open and transparent as one of their key strategies for ensuring their customers are aligned and valued.
Travis, more specifically, emphasised, “We strive for excellence by adopting industry standards and continually raising the bar across the organisation.”
Looking ahead, Travis mentioned the company’s continuous investment in technology and innovation to help SMEs thrive in the digital economy. In particular, they are expecting more integration of digital payment methods and enhancements in their services to meet the growing needs of their digital consumers.
“By staying updated and ahead of these trends and continuously improving our products and solutions, we aim to support SMEs in navigating the ever-evolving fintech landscape and achieving growth and success,” he expounded.
