22/10/2018 – TNG FinTech Group, the operator of TNG Wallet, has made an acquisition of Indonesian payment startup WalletKu for an undisclosed sum.
According to a statement by WalletKu in March 2018, TNG has already held a majority stake in the company since November 2017.
“We are thrilled to be joining forces with such a fintech powerhouse. This is an outstanding opportunity to enhance our existing suite of digital solutions and supercharge WalletKu’s growth through leveraging on TNG’s technology and infrastructure,” said WalletKu’s CEO Farid MN.
Following the deal, WalletKu will become part of the Global E-Wallet Alliance, an initiative set up by TNG in 2016 which includes 12 e-wallet members in the Philippines, China, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Pakistan.
The e-wallet group facilitates instantaneous money transfer across multiple countries, in addition to real-time money transfer between different e-wallet users in the alliance.
Besides, the platform also enables simultaneous social networking and financial transactions by helping users send instant message and conduct P2P calls.
Founded in 2016, WalletKu promotes financial inclusion by facilitating the finance cycle in Indonesia and helps bridge with oversea financial systems. It offers various digital products, including prepaid mobile phones credit top up, bill payments, hotel, airline, and sports ticket bookings and payments.
“About 64 percent of Indonesia’s population is unbanked and they make up a significant portion of WalletKu’s user base,” said Alex Kong, the Founder and Chairman of TNG. “WalletKu and TNG share the same commitment and strategy to bring value to the unbanked community. The acquisition is a perfect portfolio fit to further strengthen our leading FinTech position in Asia.”
WalletKu has acquired over 3 million users and achieved an average monthly compounding growth of 27 percent since January 2018.
TNG is currently providing financial inclusion and fintech services to the 1.2 billion unbanked population in Asia. Its flagship e-wallet application, TNG Wallet provides cash-in, cash-out and remittance services to its users through a network of more than 900 banks and over 200,000 cash pickup points globally.
Last week, the company announced the acquisition of a 60 percent equity interest in Tranglo, a mobile transaction gateway from Malaysian government-owned fund management firm Ekuiti Nasional Bhd in a US$28 million deal.
