Foodpanda may roll out e-wallet, keeping pace with Hong Kong’s embrace of cashless economy

As part of a mobile payments push, Foodpanda could launch an e-wallet service for its food delivery business, according to a company executive.

Arun Makhija, Foodpanda Hong Kong’s newly-appointed managing director, told the South China Morning Post that a wallet system where customers could top up credit for orders is “already on the agenda”.

He added that Germany-based Delivery Hero, which acquired Foodpanda from Rocket Internet last December, already has a tech team looking into developing a wallet. Delivery Hero also owns Foodora, another food delivery company previously owned by Rocket Internet.

“Foodpanda is constantly pushing the boundaries of what a customer thinks they want from food delivery,” Makhija said.

The digital wallet concept for online services is on the rise in Asia. Singapore-based ride-hailing company Grab and Indonesia’s Go-jek have both launched digital wallets that allow users to store top-up credits that can be used towards future orders. Having users buy credit for future orders also helps increase a company’s cash flow compared to when users are making one-time payments for each order.

Since Foodpanda’s launch in Hong Kong three years ago, its iconic panda logo and its delivery riders’ orange shirts have become synonymous with food delivery.

Last month, the company underwent a global rebranding, changing its company colour to hot pink and updating its panda logo to look more “modern” as it strives to present a bolder image in line with the company’s “young, creative, dynamic and energetic” culture, Makhija said.