Facebook and three Indonesian firms in talks for mobile payment approval

American social media giant Facebook prepares to apply for regulatory approval in Indonesia to launch mobile payments. It does this in partnership with three local digital fintech companies, reports Reuters.

If everything proceeds as planned, this could be among the first services under the unified payment service Facebook Pay It, which the social media platform announced in November 2019. The service allows users to make payment across Facebook's channels, including WhatsApp and Instagram, without leaving the platform.

The three digital e-wallet operators Facebook is talking to are Indonesian Gojek's GoPay, fintech startup OVO and LinkAja. According to Filianingsih Hendarta, Assistant Governor of Bank Indonesia and responsible for payment system, policies comments that local firms are asking questions about approval for payment partnerships with Facebook. No one has submitted a formal application yet.

Open up the Asian market

In August 2019, Facebook has already started first talks to these firms to launch digital payment services in Indonesia. According to a spokeswoman for Facebook, the social media platform seeks to bring digital payments to more countries. The company believes 'digital payments will open up extraordinary opportunities for businesses to grow."

Facebook is looking to accelerate its expansion in South-East Asia. For the platform's services, Indonesia is a large market. It has a total population of more than 260 million and the region's largest economy. About 100 million people in the country already use one of Facebook's services.

Elsewhere in Asia, the social media company talks to buy a multi-billion dollar stake in Reliance Industries Ltd's telecom unit, an Indian conglomerate.