Telkom Indonesia, through its subsidiary Metranet, initiated a strategic alliance with Cellum Global, a provider of mobile payment solutions and electronic trading services from Hungary.

The strategic alliance was marked by the signing of a conditional agreement by Metranet chief executive Widi Nugroho and Cellum Global chief executive Jànos Kóka in Budapest on Tuesday (30/01). The signing was witnessed by Joddy Hernady, Telkom senior vice president for media and digital business.

Under the partnership, Metranet and Cellum agree to work on mobile payment platforms in Indonesia, while Metranet agrees to take a minority stake in Cellum, if certain requirements are met.

Widi said this strategic alliance is part of an effort to strengthen the Telkom Group's digital business.

"We hope that our position in digital finance services, mobile payments and commercial services will stabilize, helping us better serve both the consumer and business-to-business segments. This being in line with Metranet's vision of becoming the most reliable monetizing partner in the online industry," he said.

David Bangun, director of digital and strategic portfolio at Telkom, said the agreement was a strategic step in strengthening the Telkom Group's digital business portfolio.

"With this, we hope the Telkom Group's digital financial services can improve and become more integrated through online billing, mobile e-money, up to our mobile platform subsystems. Lastly, we hope the Telkom Group can strengthen its position in the fintech business and digital financial service ecosystem," David said.