Throughout history, cash and its various forms have been the most important means of payment for humanity. However, in recent decades, various new payment types have emerged due to digital innovation, giving consumers more payment options than ever before.

Cashless payments are gradually moving to center stage, and this historical process has naturally given rise to enormous business opportunities.

According to observations from the Smart Finance App, payment companies have generally experienced accelerated growth in the capital markets over the past few years. Among them, pax global (00327), listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, is particularly seen as a typical company delivering strong business growth expectations in the electronic payment industry, thanks to its solid and steady operation and deepening globalization.

Looking back at past performance, pax global's revenue increased from 4.926 billion HKD in 2019 to 6.709 billion HKD in 2023, with a corresponding compound annual growth rate approaching double digits; during the same period, the company's net income attributable to shareholders rose from 0.624 billion HKD to 1.155 billion HKD, with a compound annual growth rate reaching 16.6%.

The core financial data of pax global generally maintains an upward breakthrough trend, which is not surprising. Considering the company's recent operational actions, it is clear that pax global has always adhered to an enterprising stance, actively exploring new markets and nurturing new businesses, continually achieving outstanding interim results. This is reflected in the financials, where the steady growth of pax global's business scale is naturally expected.

Faced with the burgeoning electronic payment industry, pax global efficiently expands its payment terminal products and corresponding solutions to all corners of the globe with an international perspective. Currently, pax global's operations span EMEA (Europe, the Middle East, and Africa), LACIS (Latin America and CIS countries), APAC (Asia-Pacific), and USCA (USA and Canada).

Recently, pax global has made many new positive advancements in expanding its business efforts. Just at the end of last month, pax global announced a formal strategic partnership with the technology company Pi-xcels to jointly promote advanced payment solutions in the EMEA region.

According to reports, Pi-xcels helps merchants provide electronic receipts to smart phone users through its NFC-based digital receipt solution, without the need to download an app, scan QR codes, or provide email addresses. After the collaboration, Pi-xcels' products can be deployed on PAX terminals with built-in card emulation capabilities through pax global's MAXSTORE platform. The combination of smart electronic payment terminals and electronic receipts is expected to greatly benefit merchants and consumers in the EMEA region, allowing merchants to better optimize their operational processes and manage consumer memberships, which will further enhance pax global's customer engagement and loyalty.

Also in November of this year, pax global established a strategic partnership with AXS, headquartered in Singapore. The two parties will jointly explore new opportunities in the payment field and develop next-generation self-service payment terminal products and advanced payment features in response to changing market demands.

It is reported that in this collaboration, pax global, as a leader in the global payment industry, will provide hardware and technical support, while AXS will leverage its expertise and extensive experience in payment services to bring diversity and flexibility to the payment ecosystem they plan to jointly create.

If the timeline is extended, it is not difficult to find that pax global has had many bullish news recently regarding seizing market opportunities and expanding its influence, with the company repeatedly achieving new breakthroughs and achievements.

Earlier, pax global also made new business breakthroughs in places like Singapore and Hong Kong. In Singapore, pax global's self-service payment terminal IM30 was used by the local metro company, SMRT Corporation, in the fourth "Tap For Hope" fundraising event; while in Hong Kong, thousands of kilometers away from Singapore, pax global's PAX A930 payment terminal has been successfully deployed in nearly 2,000 taxis, and by the end of this month, the number of taxis equipped with the A930 payment terminal will reach 8,000.

To further enhance its influence in australia and new zealand, pax global's wholly-owned subsidiary, pax technology limited, signed an agreement earlier this year with the existing shareholders of Pax Technology Australia PTY Ltd (hereinafter referred to as the "target company") to conditionally acquire all equity of the target company at an initial cost of approximately 5.4 million australian dollars. It is understood that the target company mainly provides electronic payment terminals in australia and new zealand and has shown strong growth momentum in recent years. Through this acquisition, pax global expects to achieve good synergies, enhancing the pax brand's visibility in the local market.

The trend of electronic payments is booming, and under this wave of the times, the payment industry is being rapidly reshaped and evolved. At the present time, given the global perspective that non-cash payment methods still have significant growth space compared to cash payments, it can be anticipated that the electronic payment industry will continue to thrive in the future, continually providing global consumers with more convenient and diverse payment options. For pax global, which has long focused on the payment value chain, the company's growth prospects are virtually unlimited; from this perspective, pax global's future may just be beginning.