Mandiri Capital Indonesia (MCI), the venture capital arm of state-owned Bank Mandiri, has led a $2-million investment into payment startup Cashlez, the company announced on Wednesday. Other investors including Gan Kapital participated in the round.
The startup will use the funding for expansion, marketing, and general operational activities.
Cashlez is one the first Indonesian startups to locally develop a host of payment solutions which include a fully certified card-present payment gateway and merchant centric reporting tools.
Its closest rival in Indonesia is Moka, another Jakarta-based mPOS startups which counts MCI, Convergence Ventures, East Ventures, Fenox VC, and Northstar Group, as its investors.
“Through Cashlez, small and medium enterprises now have more access to digital payment solution which is more affordable and innovative,” Eddi Danusaputro, CEO of MCI, said in his press statement.
Cashlez claims to have served over 1,000 merchants since its inception in September 2016. The startup aims to distribute another 4,000 card reader devices across the country.
This is MCI’s seventh investment till date in fintech startups. The VC has so far invested in PrivyID, Amartha, and MOKA, among others.
Banks are leading the development of the fintech sector, with the larger ones creating their own VC arms to invest and acquire fintech startups.
Early this week, state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) announced that it was in the process of acquiring a VC firm, and is readying Rp 500 billion ($37 million) for that mission.
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