Telkomsel, a mobile network operator in South East Asia, has partnered with Verifone Mobile Money and Finnet Indonesia to bring the TCash Tap mobile wallet to its more than 140 million subscribers.
The rollout will include fast food restaurants, supermarkets and movie theaters, and will allow users with any NFC-enabled device to use the “tap and pay” feature. Participating establishments across Indonesia are slated to include McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Coffee Bean, Baskin Robins, 7 Eleven, Cinema XXI, GraPARI, Alfamart and Indomaret stores.
“The demand for e-money services is increasing in Indonesia fueled by the government desire for a cashless Indonesia,” said Finnet Indonesia Chief Executive Niam Dzikri. “Indonesia has launched the Gerakan Nasional Non Tunai (GNNT) program (the national movement of non-cash). With Finnet’s experience in electronic payments coupled with the solution from Verifone Mobile Money we will enable Indonesia to move towards its goal of being a cashless economy.”
The move comes as mobile payment systems, such as Apple Pay, Android Pay and Samsung Pay, struggle to gain a market foothold in both the U.S. and worldwide. A year after its launch, Apple Pay adoption has remained low, accounting for only one percent of retail transactions in the United States.
After launching Samsung Pay in South Korea early this fall, Samsung reported the mobile payment service had facilitated more than $30 million in transactions. Samsung Pay launched in the United States at the end of last month, following on the heels of the early September launch of Google’s Android Pay.