Beyond Payment

Interview with OVO CCO Rajiv Chandna on how the pandemic impacted the company and plans for going forward.

- Elisa Valenta

Consumers in Indonesia have increased the use of online shopping and digital or contactless payments during the COVID-19 crisis. With the government limiting mobility, more consumers are now buying groceries, clothes and other products from home using digital services.

Some 37% of all digital service consumers are new, and the majority of them plan to stick with their new behavior after the pandemic, according to the e-Conomy SEA 2020 report by Google, Singapore state-owned investment company Temasek and management consulting firm Bain & Company. The report describes e-commerce as the key driver behind overall growth of the digital economy in Indonesia and forecasts that the overall internet economy will reach $124 billion in value by 2025. Without e-wallets and e-money, Indonesia’s digital economy wouldn’t be booming.

Fintech companies have been among the biggest beneficiaries of the accelerated adoption of digital services brought by the pandemic. Indonesia's first fintech unicorn, OVO, is no exception. It has seen a significant jump in new users and e-commerce transactions as well as the emergence of a new growth path going forward.

Chief commercial officer Rajiv Chandna sees OVO's next chapter as a financial services app and its strength in the largest integrated digital ecosystem. This year the company is focused on developing a range of comprehensive financial services covering insurance, investment and lending to accelerate the growth. Here’s the excerpt of the interview:

Forbes (F): How have you positioned OVO among its Indonesian digital wallet competitors? Do you have plans to build OVO as a super app?