Indonesian fintech unicorn Flip has announced a strategic partnership with Paytm to bring the Indian payments company’s Soundbox technology to Indonesia, confirming a DealStreetAsia report in February this year that the two are exploring a strategic partnership to deepen technological capabilities.
The companies unveiled the partnership during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Indonesia, saying they will introduce Paytm’s Soundbox payment device to offline merchants through Flip Kasir, the startup’s merchant payments platform.
While the announcement focuses on merchant payment technology, the companies did not disclose any financial terms or investment plans.
Sources told DealStreetAsia that this broader collaboration is also expected to include an equity investment of around $25 million by Paytm into Flip, in addition to technology cooperation. The companies have not confirmed the financial and equity arrangements.
DealStreetAsia had previously reported that the discussions between the two companies extended beyond merchant payments and covered collaboration around lending infrastructure, credit analytics and the co-development of new financial products, alongside the possibility of a Paytm investment of up to $30 million.
The rollout of Paytm Soundbox has already begun with selected merchants in Jakarta. Pioneered by Paytm in India, the device provides merchants instant voice alerts when digital payments are received, allowing them to verify transactions without manually checking their phones and helping speed up customer checkout.
“Digital payments in Indonesia have been growing rapidly with QRIS transforming merchant acceptance across the country,” Flip Group CEO Pratyush Prasanna said. “Through Flip Kasir and our partnership with Paytm, we are bringing proven merchant payment infrastructure solutions to offline businesses in Indonesia to help merchants operate more efficiently, build a stronger foundation to grow their business, and serve customers with greater confidence.”
The partnership combines Paytm’s merchant payments technology, QR payment infrastructure and payment devices with Flip’s growing merchant ecosystem as the Indonesian fintech looks to strengthen its enterprise business alongside its consumer offerings.
Yinglan Tan, founding managing partner of Insignia Ventures Partners, an early investor in Flip, said the collaboration reflected both Indonesia’s growing importance as a fintech market and confidence in Flip’s ability to localise proven technologies.
Founded in 2015, Flip built its business around low-cost money transfers before expanding into remittances, bill payments, merchant solutions and business payment services. It now serves more than 16 million users and has increasingly focused on higher-value enterprise offerings through Flip Kasir and Flip for Business as it seeks to diversify revenue beyond consumer payments.
Flip has raised almost $120 million from investors like Tencent, Block Inc, Insight Partners, Sequoia Capital India (now Peak XV ), and Insignia Ventures Partners
For Paytm, the partnership offers an entry into Southeast Asia’s largest economy through an established local platform, allowing it to export merchant payment technology developed at scale in India without building a standalone operation.
More broadly, the announcement reflects deepening technology ties between India and Indonesia, with fintech emerging as a new area of cross-border collaboration.
India’s Aadhaar-enabled Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) has shown how digital infrastructure can send welfare payments directly to citizens, improving efficiency and reducing leakage. Indonesia is studying this model for service delivery across its vast geography.
Alongside India’s UPI experience, it offers lessons for scaling digital governance. Experts say as Indonesia expands QRIS, linking payments with digital identity could further improve trust and efficiency.
