Grab’s fork in the road: Ovo or Superbank?

IN FOCUS

In today’s newsletter, we look at:

• How Superbank’s Grab integration may affect Ovo
• Flipkart’s new payments bet

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Hello there,

In some ways, Grab has kept it friendly with its competitors. For example, the super app accepts payments through GCash – an e-wallet that competes with its own GrabPay offering.

Now, two Grab affiliates could also face off. Grab recently integrated Superbank – the digital bank it launched alongside its consortium partners – with the Grab app in Indonesia. The move could take user transactions away from the super app’s local e-wallet arm Ovo.

Grab bought a majority stake in Ovo in 2021, and Ovo has since acted as the Singapore giant’s main in-app payment method in Indonesia. The e-wallet competes for market share with the likes of GoPay, which GoTo recently launched as a standalone app, as well as Dana and ShopeePay.

Now, as Superbank is looking to onboard more users with enticing promotions, Ovo may see its transaction volumes slow down.

While some may prefer a one-stop shop, others (like myself) still enjoy a standalone e-wallet experience, which typically already complements their digi bank and/or traditional bank accounts.

My colleague Jofie dives more into this in this week’s featured story and looks at the possible outcomes for Ovo and Superbank.

In this week’s Hot Take, meanwhile, I look into a similar situation. Flipkart – which is owned by the same company as digital payments service PhonePe – has released its own payments app.

— Miguel

THE BIG STORY

Ovo’s future at stake as Grab pushes Superbank in Indonesia

Image credit: Timmy Loen

THE HOT TAKE

Rip up the old DevOps playbook and rewrite the rules