Digital Wallet Startups’ Transactions Surged during Corona Pandemic

Transactions on the DANA and OVO platforms surged by 100% during the corona pandemic. Mainly digital product categories such as mobile data, top-ups, bills, and e-commerce payments. DANA noted overall transactions rose 15% during the coronavirus pandemic. The main contributor is digital products.

The company also hooks Mastercard so that customers can make bill payments without having to top up the balance. Consumers can directly pay via debit or credit cards. “We want to facilitate customers by utilizing our latest features as the new normal form in our digital wallet,” DANA Business Development Director Dedy Sahat during a virtual press conference on Friday (5/15).

To activate it, users can access the Saved Card feature in the DANA application. Then click New Card and enter your debit or credit card number. After that, the user must enter the One Time Password (OTP) code sent via SMS. Bill payment can also be done through the card option used.

Deddy guarantees that Mastercard card transactions at the DANA platform are secure. Because, for the save card binding process, the company verifies a two-factor authentication (TFA) security system and the OTP is sent to a valid mobile number. “We make sure our customer data is encrypted. We also do not store customer card (debit or credit) data,” he said.

OVO Transactions Sped-up during Pandemic, Most of It from e-Commerce

OVO payment financial technology (fintech) startups recorded an increase in transactions on their platform during the coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19). The most rapid transactions recorded in e-commerce services, culinary, and shipping goods.

OVO President Director Karaniya Dharmasaputra said, during the corona pandemic, online transactions on the platform have increased because people tend to choose not to leave the house. In fact, e-commerce transactions increased by more than 100%.

“E-commerce rises rapidly, food and delivery as well, that is a consequence of the Large-Scale Social Restrictions (PSBB),” Karaniya said, via video conference, Thursday (5/14).

According to him, the surge in transactions through digital platforms is seen as an affirmation, that payments and digital financial services play an important role in maintaining the pace of community economic activity in times of crisis, such as the current co-19 pandemic.

One example of increasing transactions is, surging coffee purchases through OVO. During a month of work from home (WFH), the cashier’s line of coffee purchases through OVO is said to be equivalent to 8,000 soccer fields.

“It turns out that the habit of users buying coffee still cannot be separated from people’s daily lives,” OVO’s Head of Public Relations Sinta Setyaningsih said, in a press release on Monday (11/5).

In addition, there was also a surge in purchases of data packages through the OVO platform, which reportedly could be used for video calls for more than 30 million hours. Then transactions form online education have tripled.

New Uses Occur in Sectors that have not been Touched

OVO Cash balance top-up transactions have also increased, accumulated, the value of which can be used to buy hand sanitizers for all Indonesians. The company also noted, there are new uses in sectors that have not been touched.

Like donations or commerce on digital platforms, YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter, payment through OVO. For donations themselves, OVO also provides an online payment service for art shows, called OVO KolaborArtsy.

Through this feature, every art show that airs on YouTube or Instagram, there will be a uniform resource location (URL) link. Users just click on the URL and can spread it on social media. To date, OVO has more than 600,000 merchants in 373 cities in Indonesia.

This digital payment platform has been downloaded by 115 million devices and can be used to access payments, transfers, top-up and withdraw DANA, and asset and investment management.