Indonesian ride-hailing and online payment company Go-Jek said on Tuesday it will partner with three peer-to-peer (P2P) lending firms as the startup looks to expand its financial technology services in Southeast Asia’s biggest economy.
The company already offers a wide range of app-based services outside of ride-hailing, such as food delivery or movie tickets, as it competes with the other main ride-hailing app operating in Indonesia, Singapore-based Grab, which bought the Southeast Asian business of Uber Technologies earlier this year.
Go-Jek said it had formed a strategic partnership with Indonesian peer-to-peer lenders Findaya, Dana Cita and Aktivaku.
“We believe that a strong collaboration between financial services providers and technology companies can reach a wider range of people who have difficulty accessing financial services, such as unbanked communities,” Go-Jek president Andre Soelistyo said in a statement.
P2P lending is an internet-based business where small-business owners or individuals usually without access to bank credit can seek loans – helping alleviate a financing shortfall estimated at more than $73 billion in Indonesia.
“This collaboration is very positive to increase financial inclusion in Indonesia,” said Hendrikus Passagi, who oversees fintech for Indonesian regulator OJK.
Go-Jek founder Nadiem Makarim told Reuters in August that the platform has 20 million to 25 million monthly users, for whom it processes more than 100 million transactions.
Go-Jek’s payment system, known as Go-Pay, has emerged as one of the most popular mobile payment platforms in Indonesia and last year Go-Jek acquired three smaller payment system fintech firms.
Go-Jek told Reuters the partnership with P2P lenders would be separate from its Go-Pay payment vertical.
Source: Reuters
Photo courtesy of REUTERS/Darren Whiteside