DANA Transactions Increased up to 15% during Corona

Startup fintech DANA recorded payment transactions growing 15% during the coronavirus pandemic. Although offline transactions fell 15%, online transactions for credit purchases and bill payments increased.

DANA CEO Vincent Iswara said his company recorded a decrease in transactions in offline services in March. While overall, the company’s transactions. “Down around 10-15%. The decline occurred because some offline activities were temporarily stopped,” he said in a video conference on Friday (24/4).

On the other hand, online DANA transactions have increased. Some online transactions that have increased include sending money, paying utility bills, pulses, to shopping payments at the market place.

Bills and pulses contributed significantly to the more than 11% increase in online transactions at DANA. “More and more online, people are getting used to it,” he said.

From the user side, Vincent said the number of DANA users is quite stable. In March, DANA attracted more than 35 million users in Indonesia.

DANA Create a Donation Platform to Provide a Shelter for Medical Personnel

During the pandemic, DANA created a special mini-channel Ready Alert Covid-19 program on its platform. There are features such as access to actual information about the development of the spread of the coronavirus in Indonesia and the donation feature. The channel has been accessed by 750 thousand users.

Most recently, DANA collaborated with the Habitat for Humanity Indonesia Foundation to raise donations on its platform to help provide a haven for medical personnel. Donations are made in the special channel Ready Alert Covid-19.

So far there have been four hospitals that have collaborated on the donation. In the first stage, the results of donations can be used to provide shelter by targeting to be able to accommodate up to 600 medical workers.

Habitat for Humanity’s CEO Susanto said the reason for the donations was to provide shelter because, during a pandemic, medical personnel needed a comfortable place to stay. “Sometimes medical workers rejected by their neighbors to enter their area,” he said.

Facebook Pay and Alipay Enters Indonesia, DANA considers No Threat

DANA considers the inclusion of overseas digital wallet or e-wallet players such as Facebook Pay, WeChat Pay, and Alipay to Indonesia as not a threat. DANA thinks that new players can be invited to a collaboration.

DANA CEO Vincent Iswara admitted that his party was not too concerned with competition between e-wallets. According to him, new players can expand financial inclusion and use of non-cash transactions (cashless) in Indonesia.

“We are not concentrating on it (the entry of new e-wallets). If there are new players, we consider it good,” he said in a video conference on Friday (24/4).

Also, he considered Facebook Pay, WeChat Pay, and Alipay to have different market segments. WeChat Pay and Alipay hook the foreign tourist market mainly from China, while the company, DANA, hook the local market.

“With the new players, it is open for companies to collaborate. Now is the era of collaboration. We do not see that competitors, new players. We are ready for a collaboration,” he said.

Facebook Has Collaborated With a Local E-Wallet that Already Has a License from BI

Previously, Fecebook reportedly approached local e-wallet players who had obtained licenses from Bank Indonesia (BI). This was done to be able to obtain a joint venture agreement between a payment company and a license from BI so that Facebook Pay can operate.

Quoting from Reuters, the collaboration that will be carried out by Facebook is narrowed to only three e-wallets namely GoPay, OVO, and LinkAja. DANA previously mentioned, is now not included in the Facebook cooperation scheme. Even so, collaborative efforts must get approval from BI as the regulator. The plan, if approved, Facebook Pay can operate in November this year.

The existence of Facebook Pay in Indonesia allows users on various platforms including WhatsApp and Instagram to make payments without leaving the application. Facebook entry was reportedly aimed at utilizing the Indonesian market.