The archive · Money & Fintech · Product decision · 2015–2025
Flip bets free interbank transfers can build Indonesia's dominant payments app
Free interbank transfers as the wedge; 15M+ users and Rp5T saved by Jan 2025, monetizing via remittances and business payouts.
Flip
What the business is
A consumer payments app that made domestic interbank transfers free, then expanded into bill payments, e-wallet top-ups, international remittances, and corporate payroll.
Starting capital：Started by students with their own funds; $48M Series B (Dec 2021) plus $55M extension (Jun 2022) brought total raised to $120M.
How it started
University of Indonesia students Rafi Putra Arriyan, Luqman Sungkar, and Ginanjar Ibnu Solikhin saw that bank transfers cost money, took time, and sometimes got stuck. They built Flip in 2015 to make transfers free and instant; Bank Indonesia licensed it in 2016.
What happened
Raised $48M Series B in Dec 2021 (Sequoia Capital India, Insight Partners, Insignia), then a $55M extension led by Tencent with Block in Jun 2022 — $120M total, 10M+ users, and $12B+ annual transaction volume. Expanded from free P2P transfers to bill pay, e-wallet top-ups, remittances to 45+ countries, and corporate payroll and disbursement for hundreds of companies.
How it ended up
Still running and expanding: 15M+ users by Jan 2025, with Flip for Business and Flip Globe, and no further public funding round after 2022.
Background
Flip started with a deliberately narrow product bet: make bank-to-bank transfers free in a country where every transfer carried a fee. Three University of Indonesia students built it in 2015 after experiencing slow, costly, and occasionally stuck transfers firsthand, and Bank Indonesia licensed the company in 2016.
The free transfer was the wedge, not the business. Flip grew into bill payments, e-wallet top-ups, international remittances to 45+ countries, and corporate payroll and disbursement services. By June 2022 it had 10M+ users, over $12B in annual transaction volume, and $120M raised — with Tencent and Block joining the Series B.
By January 2025 Flip said it served 15M+ users, had saved Indonesians Rp5 trillion in transfer fees over four years, and had grown transactions nearly 30x in five years while revenue rose 15x. It continues to expand remittances and business payments rather than charging for the core transfer.
The case shows a company betting that distribution, not fees, is the moat in consumer payments — a bet that has so far held as Flip moves up the value chain from P2P transfers to corporate finance.
What has to be true
- The pain was universal and recurring: every interbank transfer cost money, so a free alternative spread by word of mouth without paid acquisition.
- Monetization sat in adjacent money movement — remittances, bill pay, and corporate disbursement — not in the habit-forming free transfer itself.
- Early Bank Indonesia licensing made the scale play legitimate before the big rounds, letting Flip grow under regulatory cover.
- Founders built the product for a pain they personally felt, which kept the wedge honest while investors funded the expansion.
What can be applied
Make the frequent, painful action free to win distribution at national scale; monetize adjacent higher-margin services instead of the habit itself.
Aftermath
As of Jan 2025, Flip claims 15M+ users including hundreds of thousands of MSMEs, Rp5T saved in transfer fees over four years, roughly 30x transaction growth in five years, and 15x revenue growth. Products now span Flip for Business (payroll, refunds, supplier payments) and Flip Globe (international transfers). It remains an independent, scaling company with no further public funding round after the $120M raised by June 2022.
Sources
- Tencent, Block back Indonesian fintech platform Flip with $55M Series B extension
- Flip Secures Second Close of Series B, Bringing the Total Series B Round to Over $100 Million
- Co-Founder sebut Flip bantu rakyat hemat Rp5 triliun dalam 4 tahun
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