Line launches smartphone bank in Indonesia

The Indonesian launch of the smartphone-only bank follows similar successful outings in Thailan and Taiwan.

The strategic partnership between Line and Hana Bank Indonesia began in October 2018, when Line Financial Asia acquired 20% of Hana Bank Indonesia through a Share Subscription Agreement.

The new bank will initially offer a range of user-friendly services, including savings accounts, time deposits, bill payments, and debit cards with access to Hana Bank ATMs for cash withdrawals. Future features in the works include loans and QR-based payments.

Young Eun Kim, chief operating officer of LINE Financial Asia, says: “The demand for digital transformation in the banking industry is growing rapidly all around the world. In Indonesia in particular, due to this market’s unique geographical characteristics, we believe bringing banking services to people’s mobile phones will greatly increase their availability and convenience.”

Line will be hoping to emulate the success of its recently-launched bank in Thailand, which notched up two million users within its first four months.

The company in March also announced a partnership with Mizuho to invest in a new digital banking joint venture in Japan.