Behind the scenes of Southeast Asia’s Stripe

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Hello readers,

Last Christmas, I drew the name of my friend Max for Secret Santa in our friend group’s annual party. His request was unorthodox: In lieu of a present, he asked me to donate S$35 (our gift budget) to UNICEF. Inspired, I doubled up and donated S$70.

But this story is not about our incredible generosity, sense of charity, or dashing good looks. Rather, it’s about the ease with which I made the donation. I was able to complete the whole donation process in five minutes, tops.

Sometimes, we take the payment gateways that enable this ease of use for granted. Today’s premium piece takes a look at Indonesian payment solutions provider Xendit and its journey to become the “Stripe of Southeast Asia.”

Today we look at,

• Charting and understanding Xendit’s meteoric rise
• Gojek and Tokopedia’s US$18 billion merger
• Other newsy highlights such as the potentially dire misuse of facial recognition technology and a couple hundred million more in funding for Bukalapak

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PREMIUM SUMMARY

Indonesian fintech Xendit’s continuing trek to the top

Xendit’s problem-solving days began simply – if not dauntingly – enough. In Indonesia, there didn’t used to be a proper payments gateway infrastructure in place at all. That inspired the company to pivot from offering peer-to-peer payments to becoming a gateway itself, and it’s a decision that has paid off.

• Traction, to say the least: The company’s year-on-year revenue has grown 700% over the past five years, and it processes more than 65 million transactions worth US$6.5 billion annually.
• Silicon Valley support: Xendit was the first Indonesian startup to be accepted into seed-stage accelerator Y Combinator, which helped to boost its network and credibility.
• Growing with clients: Nine out of 10 of Xendit’s biggest customers started using its services in the early stages of their business. The fintech firm aims to continue playing an enabling role in Southeast Asia, focusing on working with small and medium-sized businesses.

Read more: How Xendit rose quickly in Southeast Asia’s crowded fintech space

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STARTUP SPOTLIGHT

Pass Goto, collect US$18 billion

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Focusing on the customers and channels that matter

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