Facebook taps GoPay, Ovo, LinkAja for payments tie-up in Indonesia

Facebook is working with Gojek’s GoPay, the Grab-affliated Ovo, and the state-backed LinkAja to seek regulatory approval to launch mobile payments services in Indonesia.

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Bank Indonesia assistant governor Filianingsih Hendarta, who heads the payment system policy department, told Reuters that the three Indonesian fintech firms had previously reached out to ask about tentative approval for a payments partnership with the social media major.

“So far, no one submitted the formal application. Some of them just came to discuss [this] during the consultative meeting with Bank Indonesia,” she added.

Citing four sources familiar with the matter, Reuters said that Facebook looks to capitalize on the Indonesian market and is currently preparing for regulatory approval there. If the deal materializes, it could be among the company’s first such service under its unified payment service Facebook Pay, which was unveiled in November last year.

Without giving further information, LinkAja and Ovo separately told Tech in Asia that they were open to strategic partnerships with companies that share a common goal of improving financial inclusion in Indonesia. Gojek, however, declined to comment.

Reuters reported in August 2019 that WhatsApp, the messaging app Facebook acquired back in 2014, had been in talks with the three companies to launch digital payment services in the country.

“We are in conversations with partners in Indonesia. However, the discussions are ongoing and we do not have anything further to share at this stage,” a spokesperson for Facebook said at the time.

Indonesia is not the only country Facebook has its eyes on in Asia. Just last week, the Economic Times reported that the tech giant was working with Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) to create and launch a WeChat-like super app in the country.

The app is expected to have features such as social, digital payments, gaming, and flight and hotel bookings, said four people familiar with the matter.

In March, the Financial Times also reported that Facebook was in talks to acquire a 10% stake in RIL’s telco business Jio – a multibillion-dollar deal that would expand the former’s grasp in India’s digital market. Discussions, however, have been paused due to the Covid-19 pandemic.