Ant Financial has decided to invest US$73.5 million in fintech firm Wave Money as part of a strategic partnership to boost financial inclusion in Myanmar. The investment makes the Alipay operator a substantial minority stakeholder in Wave Money, alongside existing shareholders Yoma Group and Telenor.
Wave Money lets users send and receive money using their phones or through one of its 57,000 agents called “Wave Shops” scattered across urban and rural areas in Myanmar. It was founded in 2015 as a joint venture between Yoma and Telenor,
Wave Money is profitable, having become EBITDA-positive in 2018 and reaching US$4.3 billion in transfer volume in 2019. The company also said that over 21 million people have used its platform, with its monthly active user base growing by 14% month on month. With the partnership, Wave Money plans to leverage Ant’s experience in mobile payments to enhance its digital competence, user experience, and services. This is in line with the Myanmar government’s plan to increase financial inclusion in the country from 48% to 60% by 2022.
“Myanmar is ready for mass adoption of digital payments with a connected population and high smartphone penetration,” said Wave Money CEO Brad Jones.In a bid to strengthen its interest in Myanmar’s digital financial services sector, Yoma said it’s currently exploring the possibility of increasing its shareholding in Wave Money.
Melvyn Pun, Yoma’s CEO, said that they expect the partnership with Ant Financial to increase Wave Money’s capability to support the ongoing trend toward a cashless society and the accelerated growth of ecommerce brought on by Covid-19.Since last year, Ant Financial has set its sights outside of its home market, investing in countries such as Vietnam, India, and Thailand. The company is also seeking a digital banking license from the Monetary Authority of Singapore after securing a similar license in Hong Kong.