TransferWise links up with Indonesian, Philippine e-wallets - CEO

By Alun John
HONG KONG, Nov 6 (Reuters) - Money transfer company
TransferWise has begun processing international payments into
Asian digital wallets in a move that its CEO says reflects their
growing use as an alternative bank account.
E-wallets, which allow users to make cash transfers using
their mobile phones, are widely used in many Asian markets.
TransferWise's move in the Philippines and Indonesia is a
shift in how the company does business in Asia, as in most other
countries it provides cross-border payments only between bank
accounts, Chief Executive Officer Kristo Käärmann said in an
interview.
"It's a recognition that maybe in the future we will view
wallets the same as bank accounts," he said.
The whole of Southeast Asia has more than 150 digital
wallets fighting for market share and there are more in India,
China and South Korea, where the industry is more mature and
more consolidated.
International players are also looking to the region.
WhatsApp is considering linking up with e-wallets in Indonesia
to provide mobile payments, its second market for payments after
India, Reuters has reported, citing sources.
"We chose to begin in the markets where the ratio of bank
accounts to wallets is most significant, and started with the
wallets that are most used," said Käärmann.
He added that TransferWise, one of Europe's best-funded
financial technology firms, was considering expanding into other
Asian markets including China and India.
TransferWise will initially allow payments to three
e-wallets in Indonesia -- GoPay, run by GoJek, the Indonesian
ride hailer turned super app; OVO, backed by GoJek's arch rival
Singapore's Grab; and DANA, backed by Ant Financial, an
affiliate of Alibaba BABA.N .
In the Philippines, TransferWise users can make payments to
wallets run by GCash, which is also backed by Ant Financial, and
PayMaya, which is backed by Tencent 0700.HK , and in Bangladesh
to BKash, the country's largest mobile financial services
provider.
The six collectively have 150 million users, according to
TransferWise.
In Indonesia, 66% of the population are unbanked, as are 65%
in the Philippines.
"International remittance is one of the Philippines' key
economic contributors. We always welcome opportunities to
collaborate with leading global companies to make that happen,”
Paolo Azzola, managing director of PayMaya Philippines, told
Reuters in an email.
The other five wallet providers did not respond to a request
for comment.
Initially, TransferWise will process payments only into
wallets using a third party intermediary, though it would like
to allow international payments out of the wallets in the
future, said Käärmann.