Most successful eCommerce companies have a few common denominators: a broad portfolio of products and services, user friendly interface and equally good customer service policy, supported by an easy payment process. The addition of an intuitive recommendation engine will add to its stickiness. As exemplified by the likes of Amazon, Alibaba and Zalora, an eCommerce venture becomes successful when it is able to attract and sustain an ecosystem of participants – buyers and sellers facilitated by a supporting cast of logistics and financial services.
In Indonesia, one such company is eCommerce firm, Bukalapak. In just 10 years it has grown to become a platform for 13.5 million micro, small and medium enterprises serving 100 million users.
Arguably, it is this ecosystem that has attracted Standard Chartered Bank to form a partnership with Bukalapak. The collaboration will give Bukalapak access to nexus, the banking-as-a-service solution operated by SC Ventures, the Fintech arm of Standard Chartered.
In a press statement, StanChart listed the partnership to mean Bukalapak will be able to offer financial services to its users as well as the sellers/traders on the platform. It cited a Standard Chartered survey which claimed that the pandemic has become a catalyst for the growth of online financial activity, with 56% of Indonesian consumers now preferring to shop and make payments online.
It also noted that 80% of Indonesians also expect the country to go fully cashless by 2025. It is this prophesy that the partnership is keen to tap into.
What’s in it for
For StanChart, the partnership will give it potentially a broader market penetration in the local market.
For Bukalapak, it gains a digital banking platform with products tailored to the local, and a financial trading platform that can potentially ease trading among participating members on its ecosystem. It also avoids the expensive and time-consuming process of getting a banking license
