Indonesia’s fintech Wild West breeds online ‘jockeys’

In The Top Up, we look at the emergence of online “jockeys” in Indonesia, offering debt-ridden borrowers a supposedly more forgiving alternative. [Read from your browser]( The Top Up 💵 Welcome to The Top Up! Delivered every Wednesday 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](. Written by Melissa Goh Fintech Journalist Hello {NAME} As we head into the last week of 2022, we’ve rounded up some of our most popular fintech stories this year for you. This year, we saw, after some delays, the [launch of digital banks in Singapore]( and then in Malaysia, where some of the winners [surprised investment bankers](. In Indonesia, Bank Jago had much to cheer after having its [first profitable year since 2015](. Startups offering [earned-wage access]( as well as [mortgage fintech]( came on our radar this year. We also continued tracking the [buy now, pay later (BNPL) trend]( that’s coming [under pressure]( as the economy sours and interest rates climb. (You can scroll down for the full list.) While the fintech industry has made strides in advancing financial inclusion, there is still a long way to go in weeding out bad actors. In this week’s Hot Take, Putra looks into the Wild West of illegal online lending in Indonesia, where “jockeys” have recently surfaced. Although they claim to be helping indebted consumers avoid the cutthroat debt collection tactics of many moneylenders, their practices remain questionable. That wraps up our last edition of The Top Up for 2022. Thanks for all your support in the past year! This newsletter will return on January 11 - we look forward to bringing you more hard-hitting content in 2023. Till then, I wish you and your families a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Signing off for 2022, Melissa  --------------------------------------------------------------- THE HOT TAKE The 'jockeys' traversing Indonesia’s fintech wilderness Indonesia’s fintech space can seem glitzy on the surface, but underneath the veneer of all that, the sector can be a jungle. There are not only typical corporate failings, but also deeper issues, like borrowers who find themselves in a debt spiral or the gray areas surrounding digital lending licensing. More recently, a “mini-industry” has sprouted in the shadows: the so-called online lending “jockeys.” These people target borrowers who have been blacklisted by several lending apps. Such borrowers aren’t just drowning in debt, but they are also facing terror from debt collectors. The jockeys style themselves as a type of Robin Hood, helping people repay their loans in exchange for a relatively small fee. But there is undoubtedly a catch. [Read the full story.]( - Putra  --------------------------------------------------------------- 2022'S TOP 10 These were our most read fintech stories of the year. 1️⃣ [Fallout at PayMongo: alleged harassment by CEO, founder departures, growth woes]( PayMongo has grown fast amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, with C-suite leader departures and allegations of harassment, the Philippine-based firm faces its biggest test yet. 2️⃣ [The key players in Vietnam’s fintech battleground]( More than half a billion dollars was invested into the country’s fintech sector in 2021.  3️⃣ [How Gojek-backed Bank Jago is taking on Sea, Akulaku’s digibanks]( Indonesia-based Bank Neo Commerce and SeaBank are still in the red, while Bank Jago just had its first profitable year since 2015. 4️⃣ [Southeast Asia’s thriving buy now, pay later players (update)]( Here’s our attempt at keeping you up to speed with recent developments in the BNPL sector. We’ve condensed our findings into a few key trends. 5️⃣ [Pleasant surprise in Malaysia’s digibank race]( The five chosen consortia are expected to meet the central bank’s stringent guidelines within the next two years. 6️⃣ [Investors in UangTeman struggle to claw back their money]( Eleven people put in over US$600,000 collectively in UangTeman to be disbursed as loans. As the Indonesian lender winds down, will these individuals get their money back? 7️⃣ [Analyzing MoMo’s super-app ambitions]( We dissected the challenges for the Vietnamese unicorn as it plows ahead in the country’s fintech battleground. 8️⃣ [Will Grab’s bid for Home Credit bolster its fintech ambitions?]( Acquiring Home Credit’s Southeast Asia business will provide Grab access to 24 million customers in the region, but a trio of Japanese banks stand in the way. 9️⃣ [Indonesia’s personal finance apps see new tailwinds – and VC funding]( After the rise of BukuKas and BukuWarung, some startups are hoping to follow the same trajectory by putting a consumer spin on the two firms’ B2B products. 1️⃣0️⃣ [Behind Ajaib’s $100m push to become a digital bank]( The investment platform’s move into digital banking signals its ambition to become a financial super app. --------------------------------------------------------------- NEWS YOU SHOULD KNOW Also check out Tech in Asia’s coverage of the fintech scene [here](. 1️⃣ [Binance officially acquires Indonesia’s Tokocrypto]( Earlier, Tokocrypto had reportedly laid off 58% of employees due to “fluctuating crypto market conditions.” 2️⃣ [JP Morgan backs India-based payments firm]( The investment in In-Solutions Global comes as the US-based firm looks to expand its merchant services capabilities in the Asia-Pacific region. 3️⃣ [Payoneer secures approval to expand payment offerings in Singapore]( Once the major payment institution license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore is received, the US-based firm can offer services like mass payout and card offerings for companies located in Singapore. 4️⃣ [Validus banks first tranche of series C round]( The funds will be used to launch neobanking products in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 5️⃣ [Ant-backed Akulaku reportedly in discussions to raise $200m]( Although talks are still ongoing, the investment could boost the Indonesian firm’s valuation to US$1.5 billion. --------------------------------------------------------------- FYI  [2023 VC predictions: Fintechs will strive to become all-in-one financial platforms]( This entails providing various financial services including checking, lending, payments, business intelligence, and financial software - with a killer core product.  --------------------------------------------------------------- That’s it for this edition - we hope you liked it! Do also check out previous issues of the newsletter [here](. Not your cup of tea? You can unsubscribe from this newsletter by going to your “edit profile” page and choosing that option in our preferences center. In the meantime, if you have any feedback or ideas, feel free to get in touch with Terence, our editor-in-chief, at terence@techinasia.com. See you next year! P.S. Don't miss out on the biggest tech news and analysis. Add newsletter@techinasia.com to your address book, contacts, or safe sender list. Or simply move us into your inbox. Too many emails? Switch to a different frequency or get new content through our [preference center]( or [unsubscribe](. You can also break our hearts and remove yourself from all Tech in Asia emails over [here](  Copyright © 2022 Tech in Asia, All rights reserved. 63 Robinson Road, Singapore 068894