Pocket raises pre-seed funding led by East Ventures

• Aims to democratise access to digital payment, build financial literacy
• Funds for towards product development, increasing user adoption

Pocket, an Indonesia-based startup that provides a holistic financial health platform for families, announced the completion of an undisclosed amount of pre-seed funding in a round led by East Ventures. ​

In a statement, the fintech firm said it will allocate the fresh funds for product penetration to increase user adoption.

It said it will also invest in product development to complete its ecosystem of offerings.

Markus Kevin, co-founder and chief executive officer at Pocket, said the firm is grateful to receive the trust and support from East Ventures. 

“We believe this funding serves as a strong mover of our vision to democratise access to digital payment for the younger population and to build financial literacy early on.

“We are confident of providing modern solutions to the current traditional banking landscape and aim to close the gap for financial inclusion,” Kevin said.

Pocket was founded in October 2021 by Kevin and Bravyto Takwa Pangukir (co-founder and chief technology officer) to solve two long-standing problems in the financial landscape.

First, that traditional joint banking accounts are not designed to be accessed and personalised independently and secondly, children’s access to financial literacy remains the stumbling block to healthy family finances, the startup said.

As a prepaid virtual and physical card, Pocket has digital balance capabilities to help modern parents manage their family finances. 

Its platform’s completely digital accounts enables users to allocate a digital account to each family member to deposit, save, and spend their money, it said.

Each digital account is equipped with secure prepaid virtual and physical cards and supports QRIS transactions which are available at more than 20 million merchants across Indonesia. 

Families can also manage and personalise the account based on the spending caps/limits with clear visibility through reports and analytics of usage for each individual, it added.

Melisa Irene, partner at East Ventures, said the firm strongly believes that technology and financial literacy are among the most important determinants in achieving financial inclusion. 

“We are confident that Pocket is leading the way in opening countless opportunities in empowering parents in Indonesia to educate and prepare the young generation and ultimately enabling modern families with healthy household finances and sustainable financial practices,” she said. 

To date, Pocket claimed to have recorded a significant growth of 2.5 times and 3 times month by month in new users and total purchasing value respectively. 

The firm said it is actively cooperating with local banks to complete its ecosystem. 

It said it is collaborating with the ministry of education, culture, research, and technology, and working with over 100 schools (currently in Greater Jakarta) to develop and share financial literacy content for kids with an overall mission to improve Indonesia’s financial access and literacy.