The LinkAja e-wallet and merchant services businesses is the flagship product of PT Fintek Karya Nusantara (Finarya), a subsidiary of PT Telekomunikasi Selular and nine state-owned enterprises, including PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia, PT Bank Negara Indonesia, and PT Bank Mandiri.

With a focus on on the middle class/ aspirant, and Micro, Small, and Medium enterprises (MSMEs) segments in Indonesia, LinkAja has acquired more than 58 million registered users since its launch in June last year.

The funding round also includes investments from Telkomsel, BRI Ventura Investama, and Mandiri Capital Indonesia.

For Grab, the investment represents an opportunity to extends its financial ecosystem to the cash-reliant Indonesian market.

"Cash is still king in Indonesia, and there are millions of Indonesians who remain invisible to traditional banking systems," says Neneng Goenadi, managing director of Grab Indonesia. "We chose to invest in LinkAja because we believe that together we can help accelerate our shared goal of improving financial inclusion in Indonesia. The strategic collaboration between LinkAja and our ecosystem which includes partners like OVO and Tokopedia will allow us to bring cashless services to all Indonesians in a way that is trusted, convenient and accessible.”

The investment coincides with the launch by Grab of a new 12,000 square metre Tech Centre in Indonesia, which will act as a regional innovation hub for the firm.

Digital payments will be discussed in depth at EBAday 2020. For delegate passes, register now and join leaders from across Europe's payments ecosystem as EBAday addresses 'The Turning Point in Payments Transformation'.