Indonesian multi-service platform Gojek has allegedly acquired a majority stake in Vietnamese payment startup WePay, according to DealStreetAsia.
The size of the deal remains undisclosed.
According to the report, the acquisition will help Gojek secure an e-wallet license to operate in Vietnam.
“We are always looking for opportunities to partner with innovative Vietnamese businesses as a means to enhance experience for users,” a Gojek representative told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper without elaborating.
The representative added that the company will give more detailed information “at an appropriate time.”
As per the DealStreetAsia report, following the deal, WePay — developed by leading Vietnamese communications corporation VCCorp — has relocated its headquarters from Thanh Xuan District to Cau Giay District in Hanoi, where the Gojek office is located.
Gojek Vietnam’s country general manager Phung Tuan Duc has also become the legal representative of WePay since mid-August, according to the e-wallet’s public information on the National Business Registration Portal.
WePay is an online payment service provider that claims to have a partnership with 24 local banks, 1,000 merchants, and four international card issuers.
After the launch of its former subsidiary GoViet in 2018 and the official rebranding as Gojek Vietnam in August, Gojek has established a substantial presence in the country across a range of verticals, including motorbike-hailing (GoBike), food delivery (GoFood), and package delivery (GoSend).
In Vietnam, although cash on delivery has been the most popular mode of purchase, the trend is shifting thanks to COVID-19.
Since the onset of the pandemic, digital payments have been growing rapidly and a culture of contactless payment is evolving.
Before Gojek, now-dominant player Grab also acquired Vietnamese e-wallet Moca to promote cashless payment for its services in Vietnam in 2018.
This article was originally published in Tuoitrenews