Go-Jek has raised Series F funding from US-based global payment company Visa.
No financial details were disclosed, but Go-Jek will use the funds to accelerate its payment services across Southeast Asia, the company said in an official statement. As part of the deal, Go-Jek’s payment platform, Go-Pay, will work with Visa to provide more cashless payment options for its consumers, Southeast Asia’s unbanked and underserved populations, and micro, small, and medium businesses.
“Visa’s investment in Go-Jek is an endorsement of our business model and reflects their belief in Go-Jek’s ability to improve the lives of people across the region through our services and payments ecosystem,” said Go-Jek president Andre Soelistyo in a statement.
This tie-up with a global banking corporation is an important move to support Go-Jek’s push into financial services. Its archival Grab has adopted a similar strategy as well. In June, Grab announced a partnership with Citigroup to launch a co-branded Citi-Grab credit card across Southeast Asia, starting with the Philippines. The credit card will be available in Thailand later this year before being rolled out in other markets in the region. Grab also has a partnership with Mastercard to issue prepaid cards that let users make purchases around the world.
It is currently unclear how Go-Jek and Visa will collaborate in the near future. In the statement, Visa’s regional president for the Asia Pacific, Chris Clark, said that the company will explore ways to leverage the power of Go-Jek and Visa’s networks to expand financial access in Southeast Asia. That being said, Go-Jek may follow Grab’s steps to issue credit cards that are integrated with its system to address approximately 400 million unbanked individuals in Southeast Asia.
Go-Jek’s Series F round has been open since October 2018. Last week, the company added Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thailand’s largest lender by assets, to its growing list of Series F investors. SCB will collaborate with Go-Jek’s Thai ride-hailing affiliate GET and expand its financial services in the country. In early July, the Indonesian unicorn also snagged investments for three Mitsubishi entities, enabling the Japanese conglomerate to explore new opportunities in mobility and consumer services in Southeast Asia.
