A virtual bank is coming to Indonesia. Bank Jasa Jakarta is an Indonesian commercial bank that was acquired by WeLab.
WeLab is planning to launch a digital bank in the second half of next year to capture the country's enormous unbanked population.
The company claimed that it was the largest fintech funding in Indonesia this year, after raising $240 million from existing and new investors. The capital will be used to acquire BJJ's stakes and tech investments.
The stakes of BJJ will be acquired by the WeLab Sky consortium. WeLab Sky bought a 24% stake in the bank, and the rest of the shares will be transferred once regulatory approvals are obtained.
WeLab opened its first digital bank in Hong Kong, a global financial center, last year. The company operates a virtual bank in its home city, as well as several types of lending services in mainland China and Indonesia. Technology is provided to traditional financial institutions.
WeLab said it has over 150,000 digital banking customers. It launched an online lending app for Southeast Asia called Maucash, which has three million users in Indonesia.
WeLab, a Hong Kong-based startup, raises $75 million from insurance giant Allianz.
Tech companies are competing for young consumers in Indonesia. Payfazz, a mobile app for handling routine financial tasks, and GoTo, the payment gateway under GoTo are some of the more notable players.
