Grab's fork in the road: Ovo or Superbank?

In The Top Up this week, we look at Grab's fintech affiliates in Indonesia, and Flipkart's new payments app. [Read from your browser]( The Top Up 💸 Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every fortnight via email and through the Tech in Asia website, this free newsletter breaks down the biggest stories and trends in fintech. If you’re not a subscriber, get access by [registering here]( IN FOCUS In today's newsletter, we look at: - [How Superbank’s Grab integration may affect Ovo]( - Flipkart’s new payments bet --------------------------------------------------------------- Hello {NAME} In some ways, Grab has kept it friendly with its competitors. For example, the super app accepts payments through GCash - an e-wallet that competes with its own GrabPay offering. Now, two Grab affiliates could also face off. Grab recently integrated Superbank - the digital bank it launched alongside its consortium partners - with the Grab app in Indonesia. The move could take user transactions away from the super app’s local e-wallet arm Ovo. Grab bought a [majority stake in Ovo in 2021]( and Ovo has since acted as the Singapore giant’s main in-app payment method in Indonesia. The e-wallet competes for market share with the likes of GoPay, which GoTo recently launched as a standalone app, as well as Dana and ShopeePay. Now, as Superbank is looking to onboard more users with enticing promotions, Ovo may see its transaction volumes slow down. While some may prefer a one-stop shop, others (like myself) still enjoy a standalone e-wallet experience, which typically already complements their digi bank and/or traditional bank accounts. My colleague Jofie dives more into this in this week’s featured story and looks at the possible outcomes for Ovo and Superbank. In this week’s Hot Take, meanwhile, I look into a similar situation. Flipkart - which is owned by the same company as digital payments service PhonePe - has released its own payments app. -- Miguel  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE BIG STORY [Ovo’s future at stake as Grab pushes Superbank in Indonesia]( Ovo’s transaction volume on the Grab app is at risk of decreasing after the integration of Superbank’s services.  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE HOT TAKE Flipkart flips through payments apps Here’s what happened: - Flipkart has [released]( a new payments app called Super.Money - The platform allows users to make [UPI payments]( and soon, make loans - Super.Money fills the void left by PhonePe after the payments service fully separated from Flipkart in 2022 Here’s our take: India’s digital payments landscape is crowded. Companies like [Paytm]( - which had around 78 million monthly transacting users on its platform as of June this year - as well as Razorpay and Cred are just some of the players. Despite this, ecommerce major [Flipkart]( recently released a new payments app called [Super.Money](. It allows users to make payments through India’s unified payments interface and accrue cashback as they transact on the platform. It may also offer its own credit card down the line. The launch may fill the void that came with Flipkart’s [full separation from PhonePe]( in 2022. Flipkart acquired PhonePe in 2016, but the payments app then spun off to unlock more opportunities for growth, giving it the ability to independently raise capital. However, both firms are still owned by US retail titan Walmart. Much like Super.Money, PhonePe users can also use the app to make UPI payments. Beyond that, it tacks on other services - insurance, investments, and lending products - in one app. The launch of Super.Money may eat intoPhonePe’s user base, but it also has an upside. The National Payments Corporation of India previously announced that it would be [implementing a 30% market share cap]( on companies offering UPI payments. With Super.Money and PhonePe being separate entities, this may allow the two to skirt the proposed market share limit. Right now, the space is dominated by PhonePe and Google Pay, which together account for [over 86% of total UPI transaction volumes]( as of May. The plans for the UPI market share cap aren’t yet set in stone, however, and the deadline for its implementation [was pushed back to January next year](. This gives Super.Money time to carve its own niche. Either way, it seems, Walmart wins.  --------------------------------------------------------------- TECH IN ASIA X JFROG: DEVOPS DECODED ON SEPTEMBER 12 Rip up the old DevOps playbook and rewrite the rules It’s no secret that DevOps is evolving at a breakneck pace, but do you have what it takes to adapt and thrive? On September 12, a select group of DevOps experts will convene to dissect the future of the industry, no holds barred. Expect insightful panels and productive networking, and get the chance to conquer complex pipelines and build a dominant DevOps strategy with AI/ML and open-source tech. [Apply now to be considered for this invite-only event.](  --------------------------------------------------------------- EVENTS HAPPENING You can also check out a curated list of trending tech events [over here]( and Tech in Asia’s signature events [here](. [Tech in Asia Conference Jakarta on October 23 - 24]( At Tech in Asia, we're always on the cutting edge of innovation. 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