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Indonesia: Rival e-wallets Go-Pay, LinkAja announce partnership
Go-Jek, a homegrown ride-hailing giant, announced on Monday that it would integrate rival e-wallet LinkAja into its platform by the end of this year.
The integration means that Go-Jek’s e-wallet subsidiary, Go-Pay, would run alongside rival service LinkAja on the same ride-hailing platform.
Go-Pay managing director Budi Gandasoebrata said in a joint statement the collaboration would help accelerate cashlessness in Indonesia, “especially among those who are untouched by formal financial services”.
“LinkAja’s commitment to a ‘From Indonesia, for Indonesia’ [motto] makes them a strategic partner which shares a similar purpose [to us],” he added.
LinkAja chief executive officer Danu Wicaksana reiterated Budi’s nationalistic sentiment by repeating the motto in the statement.
Danu added his company aimed to help the government achieve a targeted 75 percent financial inclusion rate this year, up from 63 percent last year.
While Budi told reporters earlier this year that Go-Pay was eager to cooperate with LinkAja, the e-wallet has been less vocal over a partnership with its rival.
LinkAja, whose shareholders are all state-owned enterprises (SOEs), has always been positioned as SOEs response to the domination of private sector e-wallets Go-Pay and OVO.
According to several surveys, Go-Pay is the most popular e-wallet in the country while OVO is the second most popular.
LinkAja’s strategy in overtaking the two rivals is by leveraging its network of SOEs, many of whom, such as Pertamina and Telkomsel, are market leaders. (bbn)
Source: https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2019/07/10/rival-e-wallets-go-pay-linkaja-announce-partnership.html