As we move into a new year, it’s time to start looking ahead to the next big thing in fintech. And there’s no better place to start than Indonesia.
The country’s Ministry of Finance predicts that Indonesia’s economy could grow as much as US$2.8 trillion by 2040 through technology adoption, contributing 0.55 percentage points to annual GDP growth between 2020 and 2040.
According to a report, the overall digital economy of Indonesia is expected to reach between US$ 130 billion GMV by 2025, with e-commerce accounting for US$95 billion, US$11 billion for online media, US$ 15 billion for transport and food, and the online travel sector contributing US$10 billion.
Source: Google, Temasek, Bain & Company
In a country where cash is still king and many people do not have access to traditional banking products and services, fintechs are providing innovative solutions to long-standing problems.
For this list, we’ve selected our top picks based on a combination of factors which includes — scale, funding, novelty of business model, and societal impact. We’ve also excluded companies that are public listed and digital platforms where fintech is not the core part of their business model.
With that out of the way here are our top 5 picks for the top fintechs in Indonesia to watch in 2023.
Akulaku
Akulaku is a fintech company that is headquartered in Jakarta. The company offers various financial services, including online loans, shopping, and payment solutions. Akulaku’s mission is to make financial services more accessible and convenient for everyone, especially those underserved by traditional financial institutions.
The fintech firm has recently raised US$200 million from MUFG Bank, the largest bank in Japan. , Akulaku has agreed to work with MUFG companies in the Southeast Asian region on tech, product development, financing and distribution.
This is the second strategic investment of Akulaku after US$100 million from Thailand’s Siam Commercial Bank last year. Its other backers include Ant Group which launched a BNPL partnership with Akulaku earlier this year through Alipay+.
Xendit
Xendit is a payment gateway that helps businesses to make payments more secure and convenient for their customers.
The fintech company offers several payment gateways, from the usual conventional methods like bank transfers, cards, and direct debits, to recently more popular ways such as e-wallets, QR code, and PayLater.
For marketplaces and platforms that handle payments from multiple vendors and customers, Xendit’s xenPlatform provides management of payment flows and monitor transactions, whilst also having a centralised reporting and account management.
Xendit raised US$ 300 million in a funding co-led by Coatue and Insight Partners, along with other investors such as Accel, Tiger Global, Kleiner Perkins, EV Growth, Amasia, Intudo, and Justin Kan’s Goat Capital.
Bloomberg reports that Xendit tripled its annualised transactions from 65 million to 200 million over the last year and increased total payments value from US$6.5 billion to US$15 billion, with a growth of 10 percent in sales month-over-month since its inception in 2016.
Pluang
Pluang is an investment app that allows users to perform multi-asset investment via its platform. The app is regulated and supervised by the Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency (BAPPEBTI), Financial Services Authority (OJK), and every transaction is recorded and administered at PT Indonesian Futures Clearing House (KBI). Founded in 2015, Pluang has worked with leading tech companies such as GoJek, Bukalapak and Dana.
Via Pluang Crypto, users can directly invest in over 190 types of crypto assets at just IDR 100,000 with a 3.5 percent annual percentage yield (APY) for Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH). Gold investment is available to users 24/7 at Pluang’s gold investment platform.
Users of Pluang also have access to a priority service called PluangPlus, dedicated to our customers throughout their investment journey.
In January 2022, Pluang raised US$55 million in a funding round led by Accel, totalling its investment to US$110 million.
Privy
Privy is a digital trust platform that provides trusted digital identities and legally binding digital signatures.
The company offers a wide range of services including digital identity, signature and verification. This also includes document management products and services in a wide range of sectors including financial services, healthcare, and education.
Privy bagged US$48 million for its Series C funding round, which was led by private equity giant KKR in November last year. The funding was also participated by existing investors MDI Ventures, GGV Capital and Telkomsel Mitra Inovasi (“TMI”), and new investors including Singtel Innov8.
The investment will help the company strengthen its leading position as a digital signature and digital identity provider in the country. In addition to this, support the development of new consumer and enterprise products to enable Indonesians and businesses to access a wider range of services securely and accelerate broader digital transformation.
Wagely
Wagely is an earned wage access (EWA) platform based in Jakarta and Dhaka with clients including British American Tobacco, Ranch Market, Adaro Energy, and Medco Energi.
The platform allows workers to access wages they have already earned on demand instead of waiting until payday.
The company raised US$8.3 million in pre-Series A funding in March last year, bringing its total raised to US$14 million since its launch in 2020.
The new round was led by East Ventures (Growth Fund), with participation from returning investors such as Integra Partners, the Asian Development Fund, Global Founders Capital, Trihill Capital, Blauwpark Partners, and 1982 Ventures.
The new funds will be used for Wagely’s expansion into Bangladesh and to build other features to become a “holistic financial wellness platform,” including savings, insurance, long-term installment loans, and financial education.
