Charlie Chandra is the CEO of DotX, a Silicon Valley Founder Institute portfolio company based in Jakarta, whose payroll solution is allowing workers without a bank account access into the formal financial system, many for the very first time. Once the employer makes the switch from cash payroll to using DotX, all their employees can start receiving their salaries and making transactions digitally.
As DotX CEO Chandra explains, Indonesia is home to ~60 million workers who are currently ‘unbanked’, meaning they do not have access to a bank account, but who do have a smart phone. There are many problems unique to people living outside the formal financial system, and there are also substantial risks for employers in handling large amounts of cash for payroll of unbanked employees—DotX aims to solve these challenges, making payroll far simpler and safer for employers, and delivering financial inclusion to previously unbanked workers.
Watch the full video interview with DotX CEO Charlie Chandra, or see the highlights below:
Key Insights Include:
- Scope of the challenges associated with cash payroll as well as exclusion from the formal financial system
- How users on both employer & employee sides experience the move onto DotX platform, from cash payroll
- Social impact of delivering financial inclusion to the previously unbanked
- CEO Chandra’s predictions for fintech’s future in delivering impact through digital financial access
- Critical importance of sharing your startup idea early and often to receive feedback
- DotX’s traction and integration of the mobile application with its large banking partners
DotX CEO Charlie Chandra explains the scale of the opportunity in this just the initial target market, emphasizing why payroll is an ideal entry point for a fintech solution to bring the unbanked into the formal financial system,
Indonesia has a population of 260 million people—half are unbanked, or don’t have a bank account—and about 60 million unbanked are workers who do have a smart phone.
He is also crystal clear about how his company will deliver truly meaningful value via financial inclusion, noting,
They don’t have to go to a bank, they don’t have to open a bank account—but [with DotX] they still can use all the banking services, including applying for credit—our banking partners accept [DotX] as proof of income, so they can unlock low interest rates, they can borrow money to setup a small business, they can get a mortgage. Without this, they would be paying an interest rate of ~24% per month from non-bank lenders—that’s over 280% per year in interest. So I am confident that our solution will help the unbanked tremendously, and I hope that they use us as a stepping stone.
Chandra is clear on the impact thesis behind DotX’s product solution, explaining how positive reverberations follow from bringing people into the financial system, explaining,
Having a bank account is crucial to reducing poverty—but only 69% of adults globally have a bank account, so that’s 1.7 billion adults globally who are unbanked. But two-thirds of them do have a mobile phone, which could help them access financial services on a massive scale. Having access to a bank account means access to loans, and the ability to open a small business—so it really does drive economic growth, as well as financial inclusion.
Chandra notes in his closing comments that DotX is now raising a $500k funding round, which is currently half committed by investors. To learn more about DotX or to get in touch with CEO Charlie Chandra, visit DotX.id
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