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LinkAja sinks teeth into QR code commuting
LinkAja has already installed the system on 20 toll roads across Indonesia, including the Bali Mandara toll road in Bali
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A user shows the e-money LinkAja platform on her smartphone. (tribunnews.com/File)
J
akarta commuters and those in other cities can soon expect their fare-payment experience to improve as state-owned digital payment service LinkAja pushes its QR code-based system into the transportation sector.
LinkAja CEO Danu Wicaksana explained that its recent integration with the sector could help ease long lines and other inconveniences for users of conventional public transportation. Such a strategy, he added, would also help to differentiate the system from other e-money systems in the industry.
“Our experience in penetrating the country’s transportation system has proven that people are not only looking for discounts but also convenience,” Danu told reporters in LinkAja headquarters on Thursday.
He cited his company's recent partnership with state-owned railway company PT Kereta Api Indonesia (KAI) to integrate the cashless service for Prambanan Express trains between Yogyakarta and Surakarta, Central Java. As of Thursday, he said that the company had at least 10,000 transportation-related customers every day, of its total of 23,000 customers daily.
He also boasted LinkAja's Radio Frequency Identification technology, which involves stickers pasted inside a car’s headlights that allow it to automatically open tollgates upon approaching them. The system will be integrated with state-owned toll-road operator PT Jasa Marga and its application called FLO, allowing passengers to top-up their credit through their cellphones.
Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (INDEF) economist Eko Listiyanto said the rising popularity of payment applications and e-money could turn out to be LinkAja’s greatest threat as similar providers are enticing a growing number of users with attractive discounts.
To compete, Eko suggested LinkAja take advantage of its current network of seven state-owned enterprise (SOE) shareholders.
