Facebook and PayPal joined an ongoing funding round by Indonesian service company GoJek, investing undisclosed amounts to bolster their positions in Southeast Asia’s mobile payment and financial services sectors.
The social media giant made the move through its WhatsApp property: COO of the unit Matthew Idema said it would work with GoJek to expand financial inclusion to millions of small businesses and their customers in what is the region’s largest digital economy.
PayPal’s deal involves integrating its payment capabilities into GoJek services and enabling access for GoPay wallet customers to its global network of more than 25 million merchants.
Head of corporate development and ventures for APAC at PayPal, Farhad Maleki said Southeast Asia is at an inflection point in digital adoption which creates new opportunities to offer financial services to previously unbanked merchants and consumers.
GoJek co-CEO Kevin Aluwi said Facebook’s investment is its first in an Indonesia-based company, with the social media giant seeking new business opportunities in the country.
WhatsApp and PayPal join Google and Tencent, which first invested in GoJek in 2018, in the latest funding round. www.mobileworldlive.com
