Indonesia’s “first” public-listed technology company, Bukalapak, and Standard Chartered officially launched BukaTabungan, a digital banking service that “leverages the reach of Bukalapak’s all-commerce platform and the technology of nexus, a Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) solution powered by Standard Chartered.”
This follows from an earlier announcement on their strategic partnership “to launch innovative offerings in efforts to advance their focus on digital banking, and widen financial inclusion to the country’s underbanked segment.”
BukaTabungan, a service within Bukalapak’s platform, will “offer banking services that are inclusive, easy, and secure to Bukalapak’s ecosystem of over 110 million users and 20 million business owners, enhanced by a completely digital, non-face-to-face onboarding experience.”
Using advanced automation and security technologies employing artificial intelligence, biometric facial recognition and E-KTP (Indonesia’s biometrics-enabled ID programme) validation, “opening an account on BukaTabungan is truly paperless.”
Through offering banking access, BukaTabungan also aims “to support the business continuity and development of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) who make up 97% of Indonesia’s workforce, many of whom lack access to formal financing and are still recovering from the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak.”
Bukalapak currently “serves 6.8 million online merchants through its marketplace; 14.2 million businesses (including small family-owned kiosks known as ‘warungs’ and phone credit stores) through its online-to-offline platform, Mitra Bukalapak; and more than 110 million users throughout Indonesia, who mostly transact outside Tier-1 cities.”
With the launch of BukaTabungan, business owners and the general public “will be able to enjoy the convenience of world-class banking services in the palm of their hands, anytime and anywhere.”
The collaboration between Bukalapak and Standard Chartered is “strengthened by the two organisations’ strong commitment to their shared vision of bridging the financial inclusion gap and driving sustainable impact in emerging markets.”
President, Commerce & Fintech Bukalapak, Victor Lesmana, said:
“BukaTabungan will be an interesting product because now, everyone in Indonesia within all levels of society will be able to access world-class digital banking services seamlessly and securely. Business owners now also have access to financial services to support their business from a reputable financial institution. We are very excited because this is in line with our mission to support the growth of MSMEs in Indonesia and continue to expand financial inclusion across the country. Our greatest appreciation to Standard Chartered for the trust and shared passion in this collaboration.”
Andrew Chia, Cluster CEO, Indonesia and ASEAN Markets (Australia, Brunei, and the Philippines), Standard Chartered, said:
“We are proud to partner with Bukalapak to launch BukaTabungan, one of Indonesia’s first digital banking services, combining Bukalapak’s e-commerce ecosystem with Standard Chartered’s banking expertise. This partnership will advance the digital banking services landscape and technology ecosystem; particularly through the adoption of nexus, our Banking-as-a-Service solution. We hope the services offered by BukaTabungan will be well received by everyone in Indonesia, bringing us closer to achieving our shared mission of improving financial inclusion for all Indonesians.”