3T GDS: Redefining Digital Trust and Distribution Across Asia

3T GDS is a Taiwan-based technology company that provides a next-generation global distribution system designed for e-tickets and e-vouchers. Unlike traditional GDS platforms that mainly focus on airline and hotel bookings, 3T GDS integrates a wide range of lifestyle services such as food and beverage, wellness, retail, and entertainment into a single ecosystem. The company acts as a trusted intermediary between merchants, distribution channels, and banks or fintech partners, ensuring that customer funds are securely held in trust accounts until services are redeemed. This model not only protects consumers but also helps merchants issue and distribute vouchers at low cost while enabling large channels to easily offer a broad catalog of digital vouchers. With that, let’s dive deeper into its mission and innovation with its COO, Andrew Ho. 

As a Taiwanese startup, what inspired the creation of 3T GDS, and what unique challenges in digital distribution were you aiming to solve?

As a Taiwanese startup, the creation of 3T GDS was inspired by the need to address long-standing issues in digital distribution, particularly in the e-ticketing and e-voucher space. Several years ago, many customers in Taiwan faced problems when companies that sold vouchers, such as gyms or wellness providers, went bankrupt, leaving consumers unable to redeem what they had already paid for. In response, the government introduced regulations requiring that funds from e-voucher and e-ticket sales be held in trust by banks until the service was actually used. We saw this as an opportunity to design a secure, transparent system that coordinates merchants, banks, and distribution channels to ensure consumer protection and fair transactions. Our model keeps customer funds safe until redemption, creating confidence in the market and strengthening trust between buyers and sellers. This innovation has worked successfully in Taiwan, and we are now expanding its application to other markets, including Singapore, Indonesia, and soon the Philippines, where we believe it can provide the same value and differentiation.

How does your platform differentiate itself from traditional global distribution systems (GDS) in the market today?

Traditional global distribution systems have primarily focused on travel, coordinating bookings for airlines, hotels, and related services. At 3T GDS, we took inspiration from that model but sought to expand its scope by integrating lifestyle products and services into the same ecosystem. With our founder’s deep experience in hotel booking solutions, we realized that the same framework could be applied beyond travel to categories such as food and beverage, spas, and supermarkets. By doing so, we created an advanced version of GDS that brings digitalization and secure distribution to a much wider range of consumer needs, positioning ourselves as more than just a travel-focused platform.

What further sets us apart is our white-label approach, built on robust API technology, which allows us to aggregate inventory from multiple lifestyle categories and distribute them seamlessly across borders with partners such as Trip.com and KKday. Behind this model is our role as the connector at the center of three parties: suppliers or merchants, distribution channels, and banks or fintech companies. For merchants who lack the capability to issue vouchers, we provide affordable SaaS solutions to help them create tickets and comply with regulations requiring funds to be held in trust banks. We then enable distribution through major channels such as Taiwan Mobile, PayEasy, or Everreach, which already have large customer bases but prefer not to build their own e-voucher systems. By supporting them with white-label e-voucher solutions, we create a secure, scalable ecosystem that benefits merchants, channels, and consumers alike while ensuring trust and compliance in every transaction.

What are your short- and long-term plans for expanding beyond Taiwan into other Asian markets?

Our growth in Taiwan was made possible by strong regulatory support, which helped accelerate adoption of our model and allowed us to scale quickly. Today, we generate over USD six million in annual revenue and continue to grow at more than 100 percent year on year. Expanding outside Taiwan, however, presents new challenges as the concept of regulated, trust-based e-vouchers is still unfamiliar in many markets. Despite this, we have already made progress through collaborations with voucher aggregators, enabling cross-border exchange where their vouchers can be sold in Taiwan and ours abroad. A notable example is our partnership with WOGI in Singapore, which has laid the foundation for further regional expansion. We are also exploring opportunities with mobile operators to establish similar successes in other countries.

In the Philippines, our short-term focus is to work with convenience stores and mobile operators to introduce e-voucher solutions, leveraging partnerships with companies interested in cross-border exchange. By trading and reselling vouchers across networks, we are creating early traction while demonstrating the value of our expertise. In the long term, our goal is to establish a holistic trust-based system in the Philippines, similar to what we built in Taiwan. We envision a future where every Filipino consumer feels secure when purchasing travel, lifestyle, or retail vouchers, confident that their money is protected until redemption. This trust-based approach will not only drive adoption but also ensure long-term sustainability and confidence in the ecosystem.

Can you share some success stories where 3T GDS helped a client or partner significantly improve their business operations?

We have had the privilege of supporting more than 50 partners through our solutions, each demonstrating how 3T GDS can drive meaningful impact on business operations. With Taiwan Mobile, we enabled over 10 million subscribers to access more than 100,000 pieces of content across eight service categories, successfully launching the platform in October last year. Similarly, we worked with a major duty-free operator in Taiwan to create a customized voucher redemption system that allows customers to seamlessly use loyalty points, enhancing their overall shopping experience. Another success story is our API integration with Shopee Taiwan, which allowed them to target customers more effectively by leveraging our voucher inventory, with one restaurant partner alone generating over one million USD in monthly sales. Beyond Taiwan, we have been selected as a proof-of-concept partner by Telkomsel & AppWorks in Indonesia, marking an exciting step toward replicating our model in other Asian markets such as the Philippines and Thailand. Adding to this momentum, a leading convenience store chain we serve in Taiwan recently expanded into the Philippines and is considering adopting our technology there, which would significantly accelerate our entry into the market.

Are there any existing partnerships or upcoming collaborations with Philippine companies, either in travel, ticketing, or e-commerce?

At this stage, we are still in the business development phase in the Philippines, with some promising opportunities under discussion that remain confidential but hold significant potential. While no formal agreements have been finalized yet, we are actively exploring collaborations with local companies in travel, ticketing, and e-commerce, and we are eager to engage with partners who share an interest in building secure and innovative cross-border e-voucher solutions. We see the Philippines as a key market for expansion, and we welcome opportunities to work with entrepreneurs and organizations that can help us bring greater trust, efficiency, and value to the ecosystem.

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Andrew Ho is the Chief Operating Officer of 3T GDS, a Taiwan-founded company transforming the global distribution system for e-tickets and e-vouchers. At 3T GDS, Andrew drives regional growth and international expansion, building partnerships that deliver secure, innovative, and scalable digital voucher solutions across Asia.

Visit www.techshake.asia if you would like to know and connect more with 3T GDS.