Although BlackBerry Money hasn’t gained any traction inIndonesia, it doesn’t stop other startups to aim peer-to-peer payment segment with mobile based solution. One of them is Xendit. Xendit is mobile wallet that hopefully not only storing credit (or fund) but also can be connected to debit card account. We spoke with Vivek Ahuja about Xendit’s optimism.
According to Ahuja, currently Xendit in public beta mode, with final version will be available next month. Available in both Android and iOS, he said when the transaction is larger than fund in the wallet, it can withdraw from bank/debit card account to complete the transaction.
He said, “The launch version will allow users to connect their debit cards, send funds to friends, withdraw wallet funds to a bank account, and refer their friends to the product. The product will only support IDR to IDR transactions.”When asked on why aiming Indonesians, Ahuja answered, “When we interviewed customers throughout the world to develop this product, we were just shocked to hear about the norms of peer-to-peer payment for young, tech-savvy Indonesians. Despite the mobile solutions that you’ve already alluded to, Indonesians still resort to paying each other with cash, IOUs [I Owe You], and bank wire transfers.”
“We think we can succeed because we are going to be the only entrant focused on making the peer-to-peer transfer experience as simple as possible – other peer-to-peer payment solutions in Indonesia have typically just been “features” added to other product offerings developed by telcos, banks, or device companies, not products in themselves,” he optimistically added.
On bringing the solution to Indonesia, Ahuja confirmed they are working with local financial institution. Although prefer not the discuss the detail of financial partnerships, he commented, “Part of our value is that the value of our product will not be dependent on the user having a specific bank account.”Xandit will focus on 18-35 year old urban Indonesian that has a debit card and smartphone, buys things online, and goes out with friends two to three times a week.
About Xandit’s business model, Ahuja said, “Our business model right now is focused on just acquiring customers and growing a large, dense network of peer-to-peer transactions. Only after that network is established, we can monetize the product in several different ways (either by creating a two-sided market, product expansion or geographic expansion).”
