Grab Called Push Ovo and Funds for Mergers

Reuters mention that Grab, one of the backers of the Ovo digital payment platform, is pushing for a merger between Ovo and Dana. Mentioned this step is part of the competition Grab and Gojek, including on payment platforms. We know GoPay and Ovo as two of the most popular platforms for digital payments in Indonesia, while Dana trails as the closest competitor to the two.

There has been no official confirmation from all parties involved.

Ovo was originally founded by the Lippo Group and has gained support Grab and Tokopedia. Ovo's current CEO, Jason Thompson, was previously the Head of GrabPay.

A Reuters source said this plan had been discussed with Softbank CEO Masayoshi Son when coming to Jakarta some time ago and he had already given his consent.

Softbank is a significant investor in Grab, while Alibaba, also Softbank's largest portfolio, owns half of the Fund through Ant Financial (Alipay)--half owned by Emtek which recently closed BBM.

The merger of Ovo and Dana, if realized, will be extraordinary ammunition in the payment sector, considering that Dana is used by another large marketplace platform, Bukalapak, and is currently intensifying promotions at offline merchants.