Indonesia to impose fixed fees for e-wallet transactions, sources say

Indonesia is planning to levy fixed fees for e-wallet transactions, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

Bank Indonesia, the country’s central bank, has had talks with some of the biggest payment players about imposing uniform fees on QR code transactions at 0.7%, the sources said.

Photo credit: Gojek

Under the new system, earnings on e-wallet transaction fees would be split between the e-wallet companies, third-party payment processors, and the association of major local lenders called the National Electronic Transaction Settlement.

Currently, e-wallet providers charge a premium from big retailers, such as Starbucks, which is being charged up to 2%. Smaller merchants, on the other hand, are charged minimally in an effort to encourage the adoption of e-wallets.

According to the report, the move may force smaller merchants out of the e-wallet network or cause e-wallet providers to increase incentives.

Indonesia’s digital payments sector has grown into a multibillion-dollar industry as a majority of its 270 million population have no bank accounts.

GoPay, the digital payments arm of local unicorn Gojek that’s backed by Google and Tencent, is one of the dominant payment platforms in the country. Others include Ant Financial’s Dana, state-owned LinkAja, and Ovo, which is backed by Gojek rival Grab.

An executive at an Indonesian e-wallet firm told Reuters that the decision would “hurt all” of the e-wallet players in the country. Dana, Gojek, and Ovo, did not comment on the proposed uniform fee but said the move was good for the industry.