Indonesia’s Payfazz pours $30m in Xfers, forms Fazz Financial Group

Payfazz, an agent-based fintech startup based in Jakarta, announced that it has invested US$30 million in Singapore-headquarted firm Xfers. With this strategic investment, the two companies will form a new entity called Fazz Financial Group (FFG).

As part of the combined entity, Xfers will serve as the group’s business-to-business arm and get access to Payfazz’s sizable agent network in Indonesia. Meanwhile, Payfazz can tap into Xfers’ enterprise solutions, regulatory compliance, and infrastructure.

Hendra Kwik, co-founder and chief executive officer of Payfazz, will serve as the new entity’s group CEO. / Photo credit: Fazz Financial Group

Both companies, however, will retain their names and keep on operating independently in their respective regions, Xfers co-founder and CEO Tianwei Liu told Tech in Asia.

“Fazz Financial Group is like Alphabet Inc. [Google’s parent company]. Because it not only provides capital to Payfazz or Xfers, it also provides investment to others such as Credibook,” said Hendra Kwik, co-founder and chief executive officer of Payfazz.

In August 2020, Payfazz participated in a round of seed funding for Credibook, an Indonesian digital debt management startup.

But the two executives, who will continue to serve as CEOs of their respective companies, didn’t clarify if they will be filing their earnings under FFG together.

Kwik will be FFG’s group CEO while Liu will be the deputy CEO. Robert Polana, the former chief financial officer of online travel-booking platform Tiket.com, will be the the new entity’s CFO.

In addition, FFG is looking to hire 10% to 15% more employees.

Xfers co-founder and CEO Tianwei Liu will be the combined entity’s deputy CEO. / Source: Fazz Financial Group

FFG said in a statement that it aims to launch two products by the second quarter of 2021. One is a zero-integration payment solution targeted at Singapore-based merchants, while the other is a single-integration solution that connects popular payment methods across Southeast Asia for brands and fintech companies expanding in the region.

“With more resources on hand, we are also looking forward to helping more brands enter Southeast Asia, especially for businesses looking to access the underserved consumer segment in Indonesia,” said Liu.

Going forward, Payfazz and Xfers will use each other’s platforms in the markets where they operate. For instance, Payfazz will switch over from its Nicepay payment gateway to Xfers’ platform in Indonesia. “That is only one part. For remittance and KYC [Know Your Customer], we will receive through Xfers. I think that one is coming next as Xfers is building that part,” said Kwik.