With hundreds of millions people worldwide spending billions of dollars on the Internet, online retails are seeing a dramatic growth in accessing a borderless marketplace. This condition has led to the ever-increasing consumer base and average spend per customer throughout the world; and Indonesia is no exception.
It is estimated that 10 percent of Internet users in Indonesia shop online. The number is expected to grow, as broadband service is getting more affordable throughout the archipelago. Correspondingly, Indonesian online retails are experiencing a year-on-year increase in sales, leading to the mushrooming of online retailers that offer various products and services on the Internet.
Nevertheless, the availability of online payment channels for the Indonesian retailers is still limited. Most commercial websites in Indonesia still conduct the trading by means of money transfers or PAYPAL for online payment services. Indeed, credit card payment is what considers the most efficient for e-commerce where all the processes of transactions can be done within a click of a button.
With the increasing number of online fraud schemes, however, many people have become reluctant to use their credit card to shop online. The general knowledge to manage e-commerce and to minimize the risk of credit card fraud is becoming a greater challenge for local retailers. For that reason, DOKU, as a provider of payment gateway service for online retailers, has pushed the envelope to create the most safety and reliable e-commerce payment system in Indonesia.
Behind Big Names
Operated under PT Nusa Satu Inti Artha, DOKU is actually the rebranding of NSIAPAY, which in 2007 launched its payment gateway service for online retailers. With the help of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology, the company upon its establishment conducted its pilot project with the participation of BNI as the local acquiring bank.
Closely working with the Merchant Risk division of 3 credit card bank acquirers (BNI, Citibank and Bank Mandiri), and affiliated with VeriSign being the leading and the most trusted for online security, DOKU has won the hearts of various clients from large companies to start ups.
Today, big names such as Garuda, Citilink, Merpati Nusantara, Batavia Air, Sriwijaya Air, Bayu Buana and Panorama have benefited from DOKU’s services.
Owing to Indonesia’s potential market, big international players such as Rakuten and Yahoo have set their online shops in Indonesia. “And with the help of DOKU as their local online payment provider, the presence of these e-commerce giants in Indonesia has gradually changed the local buying culture with the unique online shopping facilitation,” Himelda Renuat, DOKU’s chief marketing officer, asserts.
Convenient and Secure
Despite the fact that people cannot overlook the enjoyment of visiting a store to directly feel and see products, online shopping has its distinct convenience, particularly in today’s fast-changing world where time efficiency becomes everyone’s priority.
Most people will agree that time efficiency is the most likely factor that has made online shopping become more popular hitherto. However, lengthy administration payment process such as that experienced with ATM transfer can impede an online transaction.
“When a merchant uses bank products like ATM transfer, the difficulty lies in identifying the sales. It is more often than not, buyers are asked to fax or email the proof of transfer prior to the deliveries of goods and/or services,” Himelda remarks.
Many websites are not e-commerce friendly and have yet to facilitate the convenient means of online payment. “Our challenge in the beginning was educating online retailers about the convenience of accepting credit card payment.,” she adds.
Himelda further says that Internet’s virtual space is often the one to blame because the true identity of the buyer is often questionable. The virtual market should not be a problem if the business is facilitated with an online payment provider as the mediator that ensures the safety at best.
“The key here is, any particular provider must operate with regulatory compliance and act as the bridge to fully guarantee the secure payment for any online transactions,” Himelda Renuat, DOKU’s chief marketing officer, says adding, “That’s the main reason behind the establishment of DOKU.”
As a Payment Service Provider, DOKU acts as an integral part of merchant’s brand image that provide convenient, fast and secure online. Adhering from the industry best practices, the presence of DOKU has delivered various benefits to clients, such as tools for transaction processing and real time reporting, risk management, just to name a few. “We have customized these perks, so our clients can focus on growing their retail businesses,” Himelda concludes.
Published in May 2011 issue of Forbes Indonesia.
