Cash Is Still Most Popular Payment Choice For Digital Shoppers In Indonesia

When it comes to paying for purchases in Indonesia — even those made online — cash is still king.

According to eMarketer, cash on delivery was still the payment method used for nearly two-thirds (65.3 percent) of digital purchases in Indonesia in February 2017. Credit cards were used to complete approximately one-fifth (20.7 percent) of online purchases, while ATM or bank transfers were used for 13.9 percent.

While it appears that online shoppers in Indonesia aren’t that familiar or comfortable with cash alternatives yet, that can change soon. It’s likely that most consumers in Indonesia will skip the adoption of payment cards in favor of digital payment services that can be accessed on smartphones, with projections showing smartphone users in Indonesia numbering 67.1 million in 2017, and growing to 92.1 million by 2020.

With that in mind, Alibaba affiliate Ant Financial announced a partnership to launch a payments service on BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), a platform that is still popular in Indonesia. In fact, a recent poll found that 83.1 percent of Indonesians still used BBM.

And Ant Financial recently rebranded helloPay, the digital payment service offered by eCommerce platform Lazada in Indonesia, into Alipay Indonesia. While the service does not yet offer all of the same functions as Alipay, the move shows the company is planning to take advantage of an expected shift in consumer behavior regarding payments.