PayPal, Facebook Take Stakes In Gojek

PayPal and Facebook are collaborating on a funding round by GoJek, the Indonesian digital payments company, to boost their profiles in Southeast Asia’s financial services sectors and fuel its use among small businesses, the tech companies announced.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“This is great validation that the world’s most innovative tech companies recognize the positive impact Gojek is making in Indonesia and the whole of Southeast Asia,” said Gojek Co-CEO Andre Soelistyo in a statement. “By working together, we have the opportunity to achieve something truly unique as we aim to help more businesses to digitize and ensure that many millions more consumers are enjoying the benefits that the digital economy can bring.”

Since Gojek launched its app in 2015, it says it has brought hundreds of thousands of merchants onto its platform, providing access to more than 170 million customers in Southeast Asia nations. Its payments business processes billions of transactions each year and owns the largest eWallet in Indonesia.

PayPal said the expansive commercial relationship with Gojek will significantly grow PayPal’s scale in Southeast Asia. “This new relationship is another positive step in our journey towards becoming the worldwide payments partner of choice, and helping to fuel global commerce by connecting the world’s leading marketplaces and payment networks,” PayPal said in a statement.

Gojek is a digital and mobile commerce company in a region where most transactions are made with cash. In its early stages, PayPal’s payment platform will be fused with Gojek’s services, which serve more than 170 million users.

Customers of GoPay, Gojek’s digital wallet, will also be able to shop and pay easily at PayPal’s more than 25 million global merchants.

Facebook said its investment is the first it has made in an Indonesian business as it seeks opportunities for businesses in the country, including through its Whatsapp service.

“Gojek, WhatsApp and Facebook are indispensable services in Indonesia,” said Matt Idema, chief operating officer at WhatsApp, in a statement. “Working together we can help bring millions of small businesses and the customers they serve into the largest digital economy in Southeast Asia.”