OYO Indonesia country head Agus Hartono Wijaya said the e-wallet platforms were expected to simplify and speed up the refund and booking payment process, as well as reduce the need for physical contact at reception desks when customers make transactions.

“We are also innovating to digitize guests' stay experiences, especially amid the current pandemic,” he said in a statement on Tuesday.

Agus explained that consumers could expect refunds via e-wallets to be settled within a week, compared to bank transfers, which can take up to 60 days. He added that OYO had settled 99.4 percent of all refund requests within the last six months.

OYO Indonesia country stock head Carlo Ongko first announced the company’s plan to partner with “two major e-wallets” in August after receiving some 5,000 refund requests from June to August.

He said providing refunds via e-wallets would shorten the transaction verification process and minimize human error in data input.

In the same month, the company said it had seen a 70 percent increase in occupancy from May, signaling a recovery after months of slumping demand and canceled bookings due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

OYO has found itself in the spotlight after consumer complaints about refund and payment problems went viral. (eyc)

Popular

The fragile promise of pluralism, religious freedom in Southeast Asia

Power begins to return after outage in Indonesia's Bali island

Coffee, gold push up inflation to 1.95 percent in April