After news first broke out of its plan to lay off workers across Indonesia and the Philippines in late 2022 due to uncertain macroeconomic conditions in these territories, Indonesian firm Xendit has finally decided to relocate its financial hub in Malaysia this year.
Xendit is a Southeast Asian fintech that provides payment infrastructure across various countries in the region. It simplifies the payment process and offers solutions for businesses across SEA, which includes the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia.
In a press release, the company said that the decision was borne out of its desire to help grow more local unicorns in the territory.
The move came about following Penjana Kapital’s 2021 investment in Xendit through the Dana Penjana Nasional programme. It was quickly followed by an announcement in May last year stating that Xendit has raised US$ 300 million in fresh funds and has, since 2015, already raised US$538 million in terms of total funding.
Already making its first strategic move, Xendit announced in the same press release that it has invested in a local fintech player, Payex, a payment gateway provider licensed by BNM.
Xendit achieves status as a unicorn
Initially launched as a peer-to-peer (P2P) payments platform that later pivoted, Xendit was first founded in 2015 by Moses Lo, its Chief Executive Officer, and Tessa Wijaya, Chief Operating Officer.
The company then earned the title of ‘unicorn’ in September 2021 upon closing its US$150 million Series C funding round. The said funding was led by Tiger Global Management, with participation from existing investors. In March of that same year, the company also closed a US$64.6 million Series B funding round.
Today, its core payments solutions allow businesses to easily accept payments from virtual accounts, as well as from credit and debit cards, e-wallets, retail outlets, and direct debit.
The customers that it now serves include SMEs and e-commerce startups to large enterprises, with some notable clients such as Traveloka, Transferwise, Ninjavan, Grab, and Tech in Asia.
Xendit’s early goals in new territory
Among its early goals in Malaysia is to drive merchant acquisition and local expansion, and empower the growth of more unicorns in Malaysia through its holistic digital payment solutions.
Businesses pay a fee to use Xendit to accept and send payments, receive business financing, and manage taxes.
Sometimes termed the “Stripe of Asia”, Xendit claims to now have over 3,500 active customers across the region. It has since recorded more than US$21 billion in terms of annualized third-party verifications in a total of over 250 million transactions.
Xendit Malaysia is currently hiring for roles across risk management, engineering, and growth, and is now accepting applications on its career page.