OVO is a digital payment service based in Jakarta, Indonesia. And it has came a long way since being founded in 2016.
After receiving permissions to operate as a fintech company in Indonesia in 2017, OVO quickly expanded its reach by offering beyond payment services and smart financial services, to include merchants affiliate and business partners.
With them, OVO that is backed by Lippo Group's digital arm, achieved the 'unicorn' status - worthy to be mentioned alongside the travel service firm Traveloka, the two e-commerce companies Bukalapak and Tokopedia, and not to mention, also with the ride-hailing company Gojek, Indonesia's first decacorn.
And here, OVO that has gone way beyond a payment platform to include peer-to-peer (P2P) lending, investment, insurance, credit scoring, and multifinance, has become Indonesia's largest integrated digital ecosystem as it enters its third year in September 2020.
That according to OVO president director Karaniya Dharmasaputra.
"Within three years, we have grown to become the largest fintech service ecosystem in Indonesia," said Karaniya to the Beritasatu Media Holdings.
With the OVO app offering P2P lending with Taralite, which has secured license from the Financial Services Authority (OJK), OVO users can invest in a mutual fund, government securities and gold.
Corporate bonds and stocks are planned to join the list in the near future.
OVO has also partnered with the American insurance company Prudential Financial to promote insurance inclusion.
Right from the app, OVO users can fill the available form, and with that data, a Prudential agent can contact them with more details and paper works.
What's more, OVO is also said to have helped the Indonesian government in improving its financial inclusion.
"Almost 30 percent of OVO users are unbanked. They usually top up their OVO credits through Grab drivers, not bank transactions. These people did not have a bank account, but they are comfortable using OVO," said OVO public relations head Sinta Setyaningsih.
Additionally, OVO claims to also have helped micro, small and medium enterprises to not only create a sustainable business, but to also grow and adapt amid the 'COVID-19' coronavirus pandemic.
But it's biggest achievement that has boosted its confidence, is its partnership with the Indonesian government in preparing the Pre-Employment Card (Kartu Prakerja).
As a program to help the unemployed during the pandemic, Karaniya said that OVO is actively helping the government with this project.
The program does not only offer online trainings for job seekers, but to also become a platform for social aid distribution, where beneficiaries that are eligible can receive incentives up to Rp3.55 million ($242.62), sent straight to their OVO account.
This is the first time in Indonesia's history that the government uses a digital platform for social aid distribution, Karaniya said.
The government selected OVO as its partner because OVO has all of its users' data synced to the registry office. Here, once a person registers an account on OVO, his/her ID and photo that are uploaded to OVO, are also synced with the the registry office's database to make the distribution process easier.
The pre-employment card was officially launched last April, has experienced numerous backlash and criticisms. From its its selection of courses, trainers and many more. The implementation of the Pre-Employment Card program has been controversial and on the brink of off-target as the sole purpose of the program does not intend to ease the main concern of the coronavirus crisis.
The program is also said to be the breeding ground for corruptions.
Followed by the increased number of unemployment, President Joko Widodo is urged to see more substantial burden to come with the unresolved main concerns that are piling up.
Despite the criticism, the program recorded more than 10 million signups, said Karaniya.