Grab’s digibank will finally enter Indonesia. Can it catch up?

Hot on the heels of GXS Bank’s launch in Singapore, Grab has announced that it will roll out its digibank in Indonesia and Malaysia in 2023.

In Indonesia specifically, it’s a relatively late entry into what has become a crowded space. Fellow tech giants like GoTo and Sea as well as smaller players like Akulaku already have a head start.

“Do not forget that the mainstream banks also have pretty strong digital strategies and already have a huge number of customers,” points out an industry analyst who asked to remain anonymous.

Photo credit: Grab

But Grab may have its own advantage in Indonesia. For instance, while its new digital banks will undergo localization, they will share the same tech stack as GXS Bank, which lessens the time needed to go to market.

Grab’s main advantage, however, will be its own ecosystem, as well as that of its partners.

In Indonesia, much rides on Emtek. The media conglomerate is the majority owner of Bank Fama International, in which Grab and Singtel invested US$70 million.

But that is just one of Emtek’s many tech investments. Others include ecommerce unicorn Bukalapak, e-wallet Dana, payment gateway Doku, as well as Grab itself.

It’s also worth highlighting that Singtel owns 35% of Telkomsel, Indonesia’s largest cellular telco. That said, it’s unclear whether there have been any concrete plans for a partnership just yet. Singtel is Singapore’s top telco, but given that GXS Bank is still rolling out progressively to the public, cross-selling opportunities – if any – are not yet apparent. In contrast, Trust Bank, which went live around the same time as GXS Bank’s announcement, has gone full force on this.

The more immediate synergies, however, will likely come from Ovo – GrabPay’s counterpart in Indonesia.

At Grab’s recent investor day, the super app divided its fintech strategies into two parts: digital banking and GrabFin. The latter covers its e-wallet strategies in GrabPay and Ovo as well as financial services like lending and insurance.

As Grab COO Alex Hungate noted during his investor day presentation, GrabFin will play an important role in user acquisition for the super app’s digital banks.

See also: Visual: Emtek’s rise as a major player in Indonesian tech