Facebook and PayPal have invested in Gojek, the Indonesian firm which began life as a ride-hailing app but has since moved heavily into payments and financial services.
Existing investors Google and Tencent joined the investment round, details of which have not been disclosed.
Gojek, like Uber and Grab, has used its ride-hailing muscle to move into digital payments, establishing GoPay as a market leader. Its payments business processes billions of transactions each year and owns the largest e-wallet in Indonesia.
However, the majority of micro, small and medium enterprises continue to rely on cash to operate, due to the region’s large unbanked population. The latest influx of funding will support more of these businesses as they seek to digitise further, from micro-merchants selling wares on the street side up to large businesses looking to strengthen their digital payment infrastructure.
In a statement, the firm says: "With digital payments adoption primed to accelerate exponentially, the resources of some of the world’s leading global tech businesses will be combined with the local focus and technology of Gojek to benefit millions of businesses and people across Indonesia and Southeast Asia."
PayPal’s payment capabilities will be integrated into Gojek’s services and the two companies will also collaborate to allow customers of GoPay to gain access to PayPal’s network of more than 25 million merchants around the world.
Meanwhile, Facebook sees Gojek as a way to use WhatsApp to help small businesses digitise. Says WhatsApp COO Matt Idema: "This investment will support Facebook and Gojek’s shared goal of empowering businesses and driving financial inclusion across the archipelago. WhatsApp helps small businesses communicate with customers and make sales, and together with Gojek, we believe we can bring millions of people into Indonesia’s growing digital economy."