ShardLab Backs StoreHub to Roll Out Payment-Linked Merchant Rewards

Singapore-based venture studio ShardLab has made an undisclosed strategic investment in StoreHub to build payment-linked rewards products across Southeast Asia, the companies said on Wednesday.

The partnership gives ShardLab direct access to StoreHub’s network of more than 20,000 merchant locations across Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and Japan, which together process over 200 million transactions worth roughly US$3.5 billion annually.

Alongside the equity investment, the two firms will establish a joint venture to build consumer payment and loyalty software. The products aim to tie merchant promotions directly to payment processing rather than relying on separate stamp cards or third-party apps.

Plugging loyalty into payment hardware

ShardLab operates as the innovation arm of South Korean blockchain investment firm Hashed, established through a partnership with Thai financial group SCBX. The venture studio develops programmable loyalty systems designed to embed rewards rules directly into point-of-sale transactions.

For small restaurants and boutique retailers, managing fragmented payment options, ranging from cash and bank transfers to QR codes and mobile wallets, often makes running structured loyalty programmes impractical. StoreHub sells cloud-based point-of-sale hardware and management software that consolidates sales, inventory and ordering for small businesses.

StoreHub chief executive Wai Hong Fong said the joint venture is part of a broader push to automate merchant operations, including rebuilding the core platform around artificial intelligence tools to handle demand forecasting and staff scheduling.

Distribution over experimental software

Point-of-sale software providers across Southeast Asia are competing to control the merchant checkout counter. StoreHub contends with regional competitors including Singapore-based Qashier and Oddle, Indonesia’s iSeller, and global platforms such as Block and Lightspeed.

While blockchain and Web3 developers have spent years running digital loyalty pilots, most failed to scale because they required separate consumer onboarding or complicated checkout steps. Tying reward issuance directly to StoreHub’s existing register hardware removes friction for both shop staff and shoppers during peak business hours.

The joint venture partners plan to roll out their first joint payment and rewards features in select Southeast Asian markets before expanding across StoreHub’s regional store network.