.jpg){kind=avatar}
Apparently, there are still a lot of people around the world who still use Blackberries! BBM is still huge in messaging in Indonesia, with greater than 63m monthly active users who will be able to use their Blackberry to make digital payments. Another challenge for the new partnership between Ant and Emtek Group will be ride hailing apps, such as homegrown Go-Jek and Singapore-based Grab, which are moving beyond rides to digital payments.
For Ant Financial, it is hoping to stand out from the pack because of its experience operating Alipay, the popular digital payment service in China, which has around 450 million users. The Indonesian market is growing in terms of smartphone users, with eMarketer forecasting there will be 67.1 million smartphone users this year, with that increasing to 92.1 million by 2020. The report noted that with Alipay, Ant has grown the offering to include wealth management tools, food ordering, bill payment and the ability to make reservations for travel. Ant is expected to do the same with BBM. Emtek Group, Ant’s new partner, has tried to expand the offerings on BBM beyond messaging and didn’t have much luck, noted the report.
