Indonesians at ease with e-money services

With Indonesian consumers increasingly using mobile wallets for payments, E-money transactions have ballooned from 2.6 million in 2008 to a record 203.4 million in 2014. Recognizing the growth potential, the Third Annual Mobile Wallet Conference 2015 gathered industry leaders and government officials to discuss stake-holder responses to key industry trends. Spire’s Deputy CEO Jeffrey Bahar addressed the conference.

Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group, was honored to be invited as a guest speaker at the Third Annual Mobile Wallet Conference held in Jakarta, Indonesia from 18 – 21 August 2015. In his presentation, Bahar spoke about Indonesia’s advancing mobile money industry with focus on four key growth sectors – namely service providers, instruments (mode of service), financial regulatory authorities and services.

To describe the growth curve of mobile wallets, Bahar shared a brief overview on how banking institutions and mobile carriers introduced e-money services in the form of physical cards in 2006. With the advent of advanced technology and penetration of smartphones into the market, most mobile money services transitioned into mobile service applications – all available for free download.

Interestingly, mobile money services are used for an array of payments spanning retail payment, public transportation, online payment, bill payment and many more others.

However, these services are required by regulators to be classified as registered and unregistered. The division is based on identity registration of mobile money owners with the publishers’ database – an e-money operator database that stores customer information.

Bahar’s presentation deck on “Development of mobile wallet market in Indonesia 2006-2015” can be found here.

https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/indonesians-at-ease-with-e-money-services/

Comments

India ranks among the world’s top compact SUV markets!

India overtook Japan in 2017 as the third largest manufacturer of compact SUVs. Big players such as Renault, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ford Motor, Hyundai Motor, Maruti Suzuki and other SUV manufacturers sold 457,698 compact SUVs in 2017 – over four times the unit sales in 2015, at 107,634. While 2016 saw shrinking sales for this vehicle category in China and the USA, sales in India grew nearly 50% from 307,365 units in 2016. Will India overtake China as the world’s largest compact SUV market? For more information, click here.

Asian consumers embrace local brands

With growing regional integration and rising incomes, more Asian consumers are choosing Asian brands against foreign brands. Xiaomi, an Asian brand, outsold Apple in China in 2014 for the first time. Brunei based brand – Brunei Halal – recently opened stores in Malaysia targeting its Muslim population. The Indian government’s knowledge website initiative – known as Vikaspedia and offering content in 22 different local languages – is gaining ground. Taobao, Air Asia, Alipay, Huawei, Siam Cement, San Miguel, Tiger Beer and Indofood are other Asian brands that are on the march. They all hail from countries other than Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the traditional sources of Asian brands. Will more Asian brands take the leap to become global brands as the top Japanese and Korean brands have become? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/asian-consumers-embrace-local-brands/

Egyptian-Israeli gas deal to boost bilateral trade

A USD15 billion deal has been announced between Israel and Egypt to export natural gas. Israel’s Delek Group has signed an agreement to supply 64 billion cubic meters of gas in a span of ten years to Egypt’s Dolphinus Holdings. The deal is considered a milestone ever since the 1979 peace accord, bringing Egypt a step closer to becoming a regional energy hub. However, the transportation of natural gas from Israel to Egypt is a challenge given the security risks. Will the Egypt-Israel gas export deal usher in a relationship of bonhomie and economic co-operation? For more information, click here .

Spire joins AmCham Corporate Community Day for seventh consecutive year

Spire Singapore collaborated with the Singapore Children’s Society for the fourth consecutive year, in support of AmCham Singapore’s Corporate Community Day (CCD) 2014. This is the seventh year in which Spire has been participating in the CCD program, which aims to promote corporate volunteerism. Spire Singapore took beneficiaries of the Singapore Children’s Society to a pizza making session. The children were thrilled by their new-found ability to make their own edible creations. They enjoyed the morning while at the same time picking up a useful and confidence-building skill, not to mention many fun facts about the history of pizza. We were honored by the visit of Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy Blair Hall, who joined us with his wife Valerie. Valerie joined in the pizza making session. Blair and his team interacted with the beneficiaries as well as the staff and volunteers of Spire Singapore and the Singapore Children’s Society. The enthusiasm did not di...

Family cafés the answer to Finland’s aging society

Finland’s largest non-profit organization (NPO), Mannerheim League for Child Welfare (MLL) dedicated to child and family welfare, run Family café sessions for a nominal fee. Such cafés were established in Sweden in the 1970s and moved to Nordic countries in the early 2000’s. These cafes help combat loneliness and contribute towards the mental health of parents in Finland’s aging society with low fertility rates. Will family cafés promote mental health and family life in Finland’s rapidly aging society? Read more: https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/family-cafes-the-answer-to-finlands-aging-society/

The Knowledge to Decide

Search This Blog