Indonesia e-commerce firm Bukalapak and global bank Standard Chartered have 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, both parties said in a statement on Monday.

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 percent 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.

Bukalapak Commerce and Fintech President 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,” he said.

Standard Chartered Cluster Chief Executive Officer of Indonesia and ASEAN Markets (Australia, Brunei, and the Philippines) Andrew Chia said the partnership will advance the digital banking services landscape and technology ecosystem; particularly through the adoption of nexus, its BaaS 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,” he said.

Bukalapak is a group of tech-based companies and a technology super-enabler for Indonesia’s MSME transformation and various business verticals. 

Building on its heritage serving more than 110 million users and over 20 million Indonesian MSMEs through its various solutions, and as the first publicly-listed Indonesian technology company, the firm is now focused squarely on using technology to enable today’s digital lifestyles for both Indonesian MSMEs as well as Indonesians in general, across numerous verticals from marketplace, finance and fintech, offline to online, merchant solutions and procurement.

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