Primer, the Tencent-backed fintech firm, has announced that it has ‘set down roots’ in Singapore, incorporating in the city state following a strong year of growth in Asia-Pacific, which saw a 239 percent increase in payment volume.

The firm said in a statement on Wednesday that the decision to legally incorporate in Singapore supports Primer’s regional ambitions to disrupt the payments ecosystem with its category-first unified payments infrastructure.

“Asia Pacific (APAC) is our fastest growing region globally. Highly fragmented and dominated by local players, the payments landscape is in need of disruption, as businesses increasingly seek to leverage payments to drive growth,

“Primer continues to hold a unique position in the ecosystem. Built to be agnostic and global from day one, we’re redefining how payments are accepted, optimized, and managed. By strengthening our presence in Singapore, we’re gearing up for another strong year in the region,” its Founder and Chief Executive Officer Gabriel Le Roux said.

According to the statement, the strong performance over the past 12 months was bolstered by key partnerships with leading businesses in the region including Pelago by Singapore Airlines, India-based online travel agency HappyEasyGo, and leading crypto infrastructure Banxa, as well as expansion of its integration portfolio with 17 new integrations, including J.P. Morgan Chase and Airwallex.

In the year ahead, Primer is predicting particularly strong adoption of its open infrastructure in China, fueled by accelerating interest from gaming, travel and the creator economy.

Primer said it empowers Chinese merchants with local integrations, strategic partnerships, and on-the-ground expertise, giving them the flexibility to scale into new markets and improve authorization rates.

This strong value proposition attracted investment from Tencent in late 2023, enabling the company to expand its team and strengthen its presence in the market.

Operating across 30 markets without a physical office, Primer said the firm has stayed true to its remote-first roots, an approach which enables the company to operate seamlessly across markets.

Incorporating in Singapore will allow the firm to more easily access the city state’s in-demand talent pool, where its headcount has more than doubled over the past four years.

Following experience at Atlassian and Google, VP of People, Caitriona Staunton was appointed in late 2024 to scale the company’s workforce.

“Singapore offers a unique mix of skilled, globally connected talent. Our APAC team includes multilingual experts who bring deep local payment knowledge and a global outlook essential for supporting merchants across diverse markets,

“As a company that’s been remote since day one, we’ve had the freedom to build a team around the best talent – not limited by location – which has been a real advantage in serving our customers,” She said.

Operating in a fully-remote model, the company seeks to set itself apart with a highly flexible work environment, offering access to co-working spaces in the city, biannual international “Workations”, an annual global Company Retreat and an unlimited vacation policy.

It is noted that increasing interest in Primer’s capabilities from rapidly-growing markets was a key driver behind the recent launch of the company’s new initiative, “Primer for Growth” – designed to empower startups with the flexibility, control, and optimization capabilities once reserved for global enterprises.

“More startups are seeing that how they handle payments can help them grow, and we want to be the partner that helps them make the most of it. With Primer for Growth, we’re making it possible for startups to access the same powerful tools as global enterprises, from fraud prevention and smart routing to performance monitoring and optimization,

“We’re seeing strong interest in Primer’s capabilities from tech-savvy startups and scale ups, particularly in fast-growing markets like China. By extending our offer to these companies, we’re helping them build on the best payment stack from day one, with the flexibility, support, and expert guidance they need as they grow and scale,” Le Roux added.

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