Gojek Joins Grab in State-Backed Digital Payment LinkAja
BY RISMA ARDIANTO
MARCH 10, 2021
Sellers show the Gojek app on their smartphones that support electronic levy payment in Yogyakarta on Aug 20, 2020. (Antara Photo/Andreas Fitri Atmoko)
Jakarta. Gojek Indonesia, one of the country’s largest ride-hailing, food delivery, and digital payment companies, has decided to invest in Fintek Karya Nusantara, or Finarya, the company behind digital payment LinkAja backed by some of Indonesia’s largest state-owned lenders, in a move that marks Gojek’s joint investment with its fiercest rival Grab.
Finarya said on Tuesday that it had raised $100 million from a Series B shares funding round since last October, involving Gojek, and existing investors like Grab, Telekomunikasi Indonesia’s Telekomunikasi Seluler (Telkomsel), Bank Mandiri’s Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI)m and Bank Rakyat Indonesia’s BRI Ventures.
Credit Suisse and Hiswara, Bunjamin & Tandjung act as exclusive placement agents and the legal adviser for LinkAja in the funding round.
Earlier, Gojek and LinkAja have a partnership that allowed LinkAja customers to pay for transportation and ticket purchase on Gojek’s platform.
Finarya said Gojek’s investment would build on the partnership, combining its lead in market penetration in the 2nd and 3rd tier cities in Indonesia with the latter’s expertise in catering to the micro-, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Finarya said 80 percent of LinkAja users came from tier 2 and tier 3 cities in Indonesia.
Haryati Lawidjaja, Finarya’s chief executive officer (CEO), said Gojek would help the company realize its mission to accelerate Indonesia's financial inclusion.
“Through this strategic partnership, we hope to have a bigger and wider impact on the Indonesian economy, especially for people who have bank accounts and who have not utilized banking services, as well as micro, small and medium enterprises,” Haryati said.
Gojek Co-CEO Andre Soelistyo said Gojek and LinkAja partnership would strengthen Indonesia’s digital economy.
“As two leading national companies, this collaboration provides an opportunity to combine the technological strengths and broad reach of each company, as well as the opportunity to work together in increasing the use of non-cash payments so that it can make the lives of millions of people across the country easier," Andre said.
Data from Bank Indonesia, the country’s central bank, published last November showed that Gojek’s digital payment GoPay and LinkAja were still behind the market leader OVO.
OVO held a 20 percent market share, followed by GoPay and Mandiri with a 19 percent share each. Dana and Bank Central Asia sit at a joint third place with 10 percent shares, followed by BRI (6.3 percent), LinkAja (5.8 percent), ShopeePay (3.7 percent), Bank Negara Indonesia (1.3 percent), and Doku (1.2 percent).
Gojek takes part in LinkAja's latest $100 million funding round, marking its joint investment with archrival Grab.
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