E-wallet operator aims to leverage rising demand amid COVID crisis
Ovo says that the new service will be ready next year and that it will draw on ZA Tech’s proprietary technology and applications.. (Photo by Jun Suzuki)
JAKARTA — Indonesian mobile wallet Ovo has partnered with ZA Tech — a joint venture between Chinese online insurer ZhongAn and SoftBank’s Vision Fund — to create an insurance-technology platform, Ovo announced on Tuesday through its holding company, Bumi Cakrawala Perkasa.
Ovo said the new service will be ready next year and that it will draw on ZA Tech’s proprietary offerings. “The platform will anchor on supporting our customers and business partners, including insurance companies and partners,” Ovo’s head of corporate communications Harumi Supit told KrASIA.
Insurers can make their products available on the Ovo app. “The joint venture will certainly support the rise of insurance aggregators or marketplaces,” she added.
Insurance penetration is very low in Indonesia, only reaching 2.8% in 2018, according to the General Insurance Association of Indonesia. But the COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rapid rise in demand, indicating a potential for growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
The new alliance aligns with Ovo’s plan to strengthen digital insurance services. In an interview with KrASIA earlier this year, CEO Jason Thompson said the startup wants to provide the most comprehensive suite of financial services to Indonesians through additional insurance and investment offerings.
In May, Ovo launched online insurance products in collaboration with Prudential Indonesia. “Prudential is a valued partner and will certainly have access to the new insurtech platform,” said Supit. “We expect to make new products from Prudential available on the Ovo platform in the near future as we continue to intensify collaboration in order to drive insurance penetration among our users.”
CEO Thompson said in an official statement that by using the platform, local insurance companies will be able to digitize their conventional offerings, thereby delivering products and services more effectively.
In 2019, ZA Tech established a similar joint venture with Ovo investor Grab to distribute digital insurance in Southeast Asia.
Source: asia.nikkei