Indonesia is fertile ground for digital disruption in financial services. As e-commerce and fintech sectors are maturing in the country, cashless transactions via mobile wallet platforms are becoming more common, especially in big cities.
In a country where cash is still king, electronic money transactions hit a value of IDR 25.4 trillion (USD 1.7 billion) in July 2021, increasing by 57.7% year-on-year, according to data from Bank Indonesia. These cashless transactions were made using various methods, including mobile wallet platforms, debit and credit cards, as well as digital banking.
E-wallet platforms are among the most popular forms of fintech services in Indonesia. As of February 2020, Indonesian regulators had approved the licenses of 41 e-wallet operators.
To better understand the e-wallet competition in Indonesia, we unpacked the most relevant data from Kadence International Indonesia’s latest report about the usage and user behavior of the five biggest digital payments platforms in the country—Ovo, GoPay, ShopeePay, Dana, and LinkAja.
The study draws its results from an online survey of 1,000 respondents located in six cities: Greater Jakarta, Bandung, Surabaya, Makassar, Medan, and Palembang.
Here are four key takeaways from the report.
#1: Ovo is the most used and most popular app
Ovo is the most frequently used e-wallet app by Indonesians, with a market share of 31%. It is followed by GoPay (25%), ShopeePay (20%), Dana (19%), and LinkAja (4%).
Ovo also leads the competition in terms of brand awareness, as 96% of respondents stated they know the brand. GoPay came close with 95%, followed by Dana at 93%. Meanwhile, 81% of respondents know about ShopeePay, and 75% are aware of the existence of LinkAja.
#2: Active users employ more than one e-wallet platform
71% of the 1,000 respondents said they are active users of Ovo, while 64% identified as active users of GoPay. ShopeePay recorded an active user rate of 57%, followed by Dana (46%) and LinkAja (22%).
Active customers have used two to three different e-wallet apps in the past month. 40% of active users employ e-wallet platforms at least four times a week.
#3: Customers prefer Ovo to order food, ShopeePay to shop online
When it comes to ordering food, Ovo is the preferred app among Indonesians. 81% of respondents said they usually order food with Ovo, while GoPay followed at 75%, and ShopeePay with 68%.
However, ShopeePay excels with online shoppers, as 84% of respondents said it is the main app they use when buying online, thanks also to the integration of the e-wallet with its parent company, Shopee.
For offline transactions in mini markets or convenience stores during the last three months, both Ovo and ShopeePay recorded a 77% preference rate. LinkAja came close at 75%, followed by Dana (70%), and GoPay (68%).
#4: Dana ranks first outside of metro areas
Although Ovo currently leads the competition nationwide, the top three platforms—Ovo, GoPay, and ShopeePay—have a similar market share in Greater Jakarta, according to the report.
However, in other cities such as Bandung, Surabaya, and Makassar, Ovo, and Dana are the most widely used e-wallets, significantly outperforming other players. For instance, in Makassar, 50% of respondents use Dana, and 30% use Ovo. Only 15% of respondents use GoPay, 3% employ ShopeePay, and just 1% of respondents use LinkAja.
Customers around the country use e-wallet platforms for different reasons, such as topping up phone credit, ordering food, online shopping, bill payments, and transportation payments, the report found.