Singapore fintech firm Nium extends cross-border payments service to Indonesia

Singapore remittance startup Nium (formerly Instarem) announced that it has received a Fund Transfers license from Bank Indonesia to enable cross-border digital payments services in the country.

Nium CEO Prajit Nanu / Photo credit: Nium

The Nium-powered PT Instarem Mitra Indonesia is registered as a fund transfer operator with Bank Indonesia to remit and transfer funds in and out of the country, according to a statement.

Through the Rocket Internet-backed startup’s service, Indonesian consumers and enterprises will now be able to send money to over 60 destinations globally. It will also allow enterprise users to automate and speed up the receipt of international and multicurrency payments.

The Nium platform will also enable companies and fintech firms in the country to make business-to-business commercial payments and issue their own employee expense cards, supplier card payments, and customer cards.

“With Indonesia’s enterprising population increasingly connecting with their global counterparts, we see immense potential for cross-border money movements in and out of Indonesia,” said Nium co-founder and CEO Prajit Nanu.

The company’s operations in Indonesia will be headed by Vadyo Munaan who has extensive experience in the financial services industry from companies such as Citibank GCB, Cigna International, Mastercard, Visa, Bank of Indonesia, and MoneyGram.

Nium was launched in 2015 with a goal to simplify cross-border payments. The company has since expanded and scaled its offerings to meet the needs of small and medium-sized enterprises. According to the company, its network is powered by a portfolio of licenses from financial regulators in over 38 countries.

The startup recently announced it had decided to withdraw its bid for a digital banking license in Singapore to focus instead on its global payments business and expansion to new markets. The company is also reportedly looking into acquiring new electronic money institution licenses for card issuing and stored-value facilities in Mexico and Brazil.