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Hello there,
Nowadays, I use digital money more often than cash. Like a lot of people, I often pay for food, groceries, rides, utility bills, and other daily necessities using an e-wallet. Barring any emergencies, I rarely withdraw cash anymore – maybe only once or twice a month.
In Indonesia, digital wallets such as GoPay, Ovo, Dana, and LinkAja have shaped this behavior. Each player has its own distinctive features, which is why I have all of these apps on my phone.
Speaking of Dana, the Ant Financial-backed firm recently raised US$250 million in funding from local conglomerate Sinar Mas Group. At the same time, regional ecommerce giant Lazada bought over 4.8 million of Dana shares from Emtek, an existing investor, worth US$304.5 million.
With the fresh funds, Dana plans to roll out additional financial services to reach more consumers, particularly the country’s unbanked and underbanked population. Financial services such as lending, insurance, and wealth management are widely believed to be the next phase of growth for e-wallet players.
At the same time, having new investors will open more opportunities for Dana to collaborate and widen its ecosystem. Sinar Mas, for instance, is active in sectors including property, telecommunications, insurance, banking, and lending. And while Dana has not shared specifics, a pay-later service or lending products for SMEs on Lazada is also a possibility.
I delve into Dana’s plan and how Sinar Mas and Lazada can help the fintech company realize its ambitions in one of this week’s Big Stories. In the second story, my colleague Simon assesses the potential of two newly launched Singapore digital banks, GXS and Trust.
And for our Hot Take, I look into the latest digital banking app from Bukalapak and Standard Chartered in Indonesia. Read on!
– Jofie
THE BIG STORIES
1️⃣ Lazada-backed Dana finds new momentum as it looks beyond payments
Image credit: Timmy Loen
The Indonesian e-wallet plans to expand its financial services with lending, insurance, and wealth management for its next phase of growth.
2️⃣ Sizing up GXS and Trust, Singapore’s newly-launched digital banks
THE HOT TAKE
NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW
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