Grab agrees to buy Indonesian fintech firm Kudo to boost its mobile payment platform

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Singapore-based ride-hailing and logistics services firm Grab has signed an agreement to acquire Indonesian online payment startup Kudo for an undisclosed amount.

The acquisition, which marks Grab’s first investment of its US$700 million ‘Grab 4 Indonesia’ 2020 master plan, is expected to further expand its presence in the digital payments ecosystem, apart from supporting rapid growth in online consumer spending in Indonesia. The cash and equity deal is expected to be worth more than $100 million, as reported by TechCrunch. However, both the companies did not reveal the commercial terms.

Under the terms of the acquisition, the Kudo platform will be integrated with GrabPay, an online payment service of Grab.

Founded in 2014, Kudo is an online to offline (O2O) platform in Indonesia. It operates extensive network of 400,000 agents covering more than 500 cities in remote towns and rural areas of the country, enabling customers to transact and pay online. Kudo partners with several merchants and suppliers to provide a range of services, including mobile recharge, bill payments and e-commerce. Earlier it raised undisclosed Seed and Series A rounds funding from GREE Ventures, 500 Startups and East Ventures.

With significant presence in payments space in several markets of Southeast Asia, including the Philippines, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore and Indonesia, it plans to open a new research and development (R&D) center in India in the near future to further expand its presence in payments area. In addition, the two companies also intend to explore growth opportunities in other financial services areas such as insurance and consumer loans.

To know more and gain deeper understanding of mobile payment industry in Indonesia, click here.