Indonesia has 220 million individuals with access to the internet. Indonesia has more than 158 million active TikTok users [the highest in the world]. Indonesia has 193 million adult individuals. Indonesia has 97.74 million individuals who are unbanked.

Yesterday, Indepay Setara Networks unveiled their zero-fee transfer platform and went live with PT Indosat Tbk. The venue was buzzing with industry leaders and journalists.

Why is this ID-based zero-fee payment platform, which is built upon the open banking framework promoted by Bank Indonesia, a big deal?

So, in simple words, the mobile number becomes the unique ID, which can send and/or receive payments [similar to UPI in India]. And now, with Indepay going live with Indosat, users in the Indosat ecosystem can transfer money to each other or pay merchants with zero fees.

This also means that any app with a large distribution base [social media, OTT, e-commerce, etc.] can also power these zero-fee payments. Interestingly, the answer is yes.

So, what does this mean for Indonesia and Indonesian consumers?

• Accessibility to financial services, especially in rural areas. The markups on transfers/recharges can be obscenely high.
• Small businesses can save on costs.
• Less dependency on cash [well, cash is still king in Indonesia].

We had so much to unpack from the fireside chat between Rajib Saha, the CEO & Co-Founder of Indepay, and Ritesh Singh, Director & Chief Commercial Officer of Indosat, moderated by Tramaditya Salim, Managing Editor of Jakarta Post.

Wishing the team at Indepay and Indosat success. Upwards and onwards.