Paying a bill or a fine used to involve racing to the post office before the counters closed. Convenience was a luxury limited by geography and operating hours, recounts Jeffrey Goh. To tackle the problem, he co-founded digital payment and service network AXS so essential payments can be made at any time of the day, and all at one go. “We wanted to give people their lunch breaks and weekends back,” he sums up.
AXS has gone on to process over 650 million bill payments over the last 26 years. It currently manages more than 70 transactions a minute and provides its one million users with access to some 800 bill payment services.
The company’s success is rooted in practical simplicity, Goh says. “In the payments industry, trust is hard to earn, but easy to lose. We have succeeded by staying focused on solving everyday problems rather than chasing fleeting trends,” he adds. Prior to returning to AXS as Group CEO, he was Group CEO of Network for Electronic Transfers (Nets) and had a regional stint leading teams at Grab Financial Group.
His expansion strategy for AXS has led to the launch of the Regional Cross-Border Bill Payment Platform, which includes a partnership with UnionPay that enables Mainland Chinese residents living in Singapore to pay over 10 categories of local bills. The aim is to become the “payments backbone” of the region, Goh makes plain, and as a natural evolution of its ecosystem, AXS is in the process of developing a white-label loan product that will provide integrated cash flow solutions.
But not everyone is comfortable or confident navigating online payments despite its prevalence, Goh points out. It is why AXS maintains an omnichannel approach and still has kiosks. “Financial inclusion is more than just launching new products. It’s about ensuring essential services remain accessible to everyone including seniors, migrant workers, and those without full access to digital banking.”
True inclusion requires radical simplicity, he continues. “It’s easy to get lost in fintech jargon like ‘tokenisation’ or ‘rails’, but the everyday person just wants to get on with their life. The burden is on us to make technology invisible.”
This year, AXS plans to roll out rewards for bill payments, an omnichannel refresh that will see an upgrade to both the kiosks and digital platforms, and advancements in embedded finance through the launch of its first bill-centric card. They are the natural next steps, Goh avers. “Our scale is a direct result of being useful and inclusive.”
He shares five lessons he has learnt from the online payment business.
1. The hard years build resilience
People like to talk about entrepreneurship as if it’s a highlight reel. In truth, the most formative moments are usually those when nobody claps. There was a time in the early years when we were a month away from insolvency. I still remember how humbling it felt to drive an old car while former colleagues were thriving. There were also times during the Asian financial crisis when cash flow was tight and every decision carried real weight because I was responsible for so many livelihoods, but that’s the very reason why giving up never crossed my mind.
2. Everyday people are the real market
In fintech, we love jargon, but the everyday person doesn’t find words like “tokenisation” and “interoperability” any more exciting than “bills”. A hawker just wants to sell a plate of noodles and go home to rest. If you forget that, you end up building products that impress conferences, but don’t change lives.
When I was pushing digital payments in my previous companies, I spent a lot of time on the ground eating, chatting with, and listening to people at hawker centres. Over time, hawkers knew me by name and told me what really bothered them were the hygiene risks when handling cash and settlement worries like “Will I get every dollar?” It reminded me that adoption isn’t about convincing people with your big ideas. If you make it simple and trustworthy, people will use it. If you make it complicated, they won’t.
3. Partnerships are part of the infrastructure
An ecosystem includes payments. You can have an excellent product, but if the wider system—regulators, banks, merchants, consumers—isn’t moving with you, you will hit a wall. That’s why I think of partnerships as infrastructure, not distribution. AXS grew because we earned trust with partners and integrated in a way that made everyone stronger. This enabled access across channels and helped unlock services for customers where they already exist.
I’ve also learnt that partnerships only work when the unglamorous grunt work is done well. If you’re inconsistent in that area, it shows up immediately in payments and everyone feels it. So, one lesson I repeat to all teams is don’t ask “Can we launch?” Instead, ask “Can we run this flawlessly for five years?” In infrastructure businesses, longevity is a strategy.
4. Prioritise culture over strategy
Over the years, I’ve learnt that in an infrastructure business like payments, technology matters, but people matter more. When I returned to AXS, one of my biggest reflections was this: systems can be upgraded quickly, but you cannot do the same to cultures. In months, you can install new cloud infrastructure, but building a team that takes ownership, sweats the details, and feels responsible for results take years.
The payments space is unforgiving. A small mistake isn’t just a bug; it’s someone’s fine, someone’s salary, someone’s essential bill. That standard of responsibility must exist in the people, not just in the process. There were moments when it would have been quicker to push through decisions from the top down. However, I’ve learnt that sustainable growth comes when teams understand the“why” behind what they’re building. When people feel trusted, they raise the bar for themselves. In the long run, strategy sets direction, but culture determines whether you get there.
5. Keep your roots close when building in Singapore, but have a regional plan
Southeast Asia has enormous potential, but its varied cultures and distinct business practices require careful consideration and respect. In other words, if there are 10 countries, there are 10 cultures and 10 ways to respect them.
The experience has taught me that regional growth isn’t about copying Singapore’s playbook. It must align with everyone’s needs. For example, cross-border bill payment capabilities should be adapted to regional realities.
This is why we’re looking at a more formalised regional cross-border bill payment platform and why we are talking about developing something like a “payments backbone” for the region over time. Humility matters here. In real life, many ideas sound great in theory but are met with “cannot lahs”, so we have to learn, refine, and remain focused on what makes life easier for the people we serve.
