Indonesian fintech unicorn Xendit officially enters M’sia to help grow more local unicorns

Indonesian fintech unicorn, Xendit, has officially entered the Malaysian market after news first broke in late 2021 of its plans to relocate its financial hub to our shores.

Initially launched as a peer-to-peer (P2P) payments platform that later pivoted, Xendit was founded in 2015 by CEO Moses Lo and COO Tessa Wijaya.

It provides payment solutions and simplifies the payment process for businesses across SEA, including Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.

Its core payments solutions allow businesses to easily accept payments from virtual accounts, credit and debit cards, e-wallets, retail outlets, and direct debit. 

Businesses pay a fee to use Xendit to accept and send payments, receive business financing and manage taxes.

Customers it serves include SMEs and ecommerce startups to large enterprises, with some notable clients being Traveloka, Transferwise, Ninjavan, Grab, and Tech in Asia.

The company earned the title of unicorn in September 2021, upon closing its US$150 million Series C funding round, led by Tiger Global Management with participation from existing investors. In March that same year, it closed a US$64.6 million Series B. 

It then announced in May 2022 that it had raised US$300 million in fresh funds, and since 2015 has now raised a total funding amount of US$538 million.

The company’s Malaysian market entry follows Penjana Kapital’s 2021 investment in Xendit through the Dana Penjana Nasional programme.

Already making its first strategic move here, Xendit announced in the same press release that it has invested in a local fintech player, Payex, a payment gateway provider licensed by BNM.

Among its early goals here will be to drive merchant acquisition and local expansion, and empower the growth of more unicorns in Malaysia through its holistic digital payment solutions.

Sometimes termed the “Stripe of Asia”, Xendit claims to have over 3,500 active customers across the region, and has recorded over US$21 billion in annualised third-party verifications across over 250 million transactions in total.

Xendit Malaysia is currently hiring for roles across risk management, engineering, and growth, and is accepting applications on its career page.

• Learn more about Xendit here.
• Read more fintech content here.

Featured Image Credit: Xendit