We Simplify Payments So Businesses Can Focus on Growth and Value Creation: Moses Lo, CEO of Xendit

Xendit is a fintech company that provides the digital infrastructure needed for businesses to thrive in Southeast Asia. It offers tools that allow companies to accept payments, automate disbursements, issue cards, and strengthen fraud prevention. What began as a bold idea has become one of the fastest growing startups in the region, now processing billions of dollars in transactions every year.

Moses Lo, co-founder and CEO, grew up in Australia and later moved to the United States to pursue an MBA at UC Berkeley. It was there that he and his co-founders began exploring financial technology as a way to solve challenges across the Indonesian market. The banking systems in the region were fragmented, traditional payment processes were slow, and businesses lacked the infrastructure needed to participate fully in the digital economy. Xendit was created to bridge that gap.

The company was founded in 2105.

Early Days and a Swift Pivot

In the early months, Moses and his team experimented with a product that resembled Venmo, allowing people to send money to one another. Yet during their time at Y Combinator, the well-known accelerator program, the team received feedback that shifted their direction. They were encouraged to focus on building a simple payments application programming interface for Indonesia.

Moses recalls how quickly things changed. Within one week the team had created a working prototype. Within six weeks, more than sixteen thousand people had tried it. That traction revealed the real opportunity. What the region needed was not another consumer app. It needed the foundational infrastructure that would allow businesses to accept and send money reliably. The pivot defined the path that Xendit has followed ever since.

Finding Strength in a Crisis

No company grows in a straight line. When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, Xendit’s revenues dropped sharply. Much of its early volume came from the travel sector, which was hit the hardest. Moses and his team could have waited for the storm to pass. Instead, they took a very different approach.

He remembers the decision clearly. “We chose to be bold. While others were pulling back, we decided to expand.” During that period, Xendit launched in the Philippines, investing in people and technology when most were conserving resources. Nine months later, the company had not only recovered but had reached record highs. That experience reinforced an important lesson for Moses. Adversity often accelerates innovation, and the companies that lean into the challenge are the ones that emerge stronger.

Culture Without Ceilings

For Moses, culture has always been as important as technology. He believes that hierarchy slows companies down, and that the best ideas can come from anywhere. At Xendit, meetings are open and collaborative. New employees are encouraged to speak up, even in their first week. There is a sense of meritocracy that prizes results and initiative above titles.

This spirit of openness is not just about serious work. Xendit has created rituals that keep the workplace fun and human. One of the most memorable is the tradition of dunking a team member into the pool on their birthday. These moments may sound lighthearted, but Moses believes they build a sense of equality and connection that makes the team stronger. In his view, removing invisible ceilings allows people to contribute their full potential.

Scaling Seamlessly

Today, Xendit processes payments for thousands of businesses across the region. From small startups to established enterprises, companies rely on its systems to keep money moving efficiently. Moses explains that reliable infrastructure was the key to scaling. “Without strong backend systems we could never have grown at this pace. It was important that our technology simply worked.”

The turning point came when the company decided to open its infrastructure to third parties. By offering an entire suite of application programming interfaces, Xendit became more than a payments company. It became the backbone of digital transactions across Southeast Asia. That decision positioned the company as an enabler of growth for countless other businesses.

Lessons in Leadership

Moses’s own path to leadership has been shaped by both corporate and entrepreneurial experiences. Before founding Xendit, he worked as a consultant at Boston Consulting Group. The role gave him a strong foundation in strategy and problem solving, but he soon realized he wanted to build something of his own. The decision to move to Berkeley for his MBA was pivotal. There, surrounded by ambitious peers and exposed to Silicon Valley’s startup culture, he found the courage to pursue entrepreneurship full time.

One moment stands out. A professor challenged him to pitch a billion-dollar idea in front of the class. At first, Moses hesitated. But once he spoke, he realized he was capable of thinking and building on that scale. That spark helped him believe that his vision for Xendit could indeed become reality.

Mentorship and Building Teams

Moses credits much of his growth to the mentors he has met along the way. He explains that the best relationships do not begin with a request for help. Instead, they begin with conversations, sharing progress, and asking thoughtful questions. Over time, advisors naturally become mentors.

When it comes to hiring, Xendit has developed its own unique approach. Rather than relying solely on interviews, the company organizes “trial days” where candidates spend time solving real problems alongside the team. This not only helps evaluate skills, it also shows how candidates collaborate and adapt. The process reflects Xendit’s culture of transparency and fairness.

Serving a Digital Future

Today, Xendit operates across Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore. It supports millions of users and empowers businesses across industries such as e-commerce, telecommunications, and financial services. As Southeast Asia’s digital economy continues to expand, Xendit aims to remain at the forefront, ensuring that businesses of all sizes can participate fully and securely.

Moses emphasizes that the company’s mission is about more than just technology. It is about unlocking opportunities for entrepreneurs, small business owners, and consumers across the region. “If we can make payments simple and reliable, we help businesses focus on what they do best. That is what drives us.”

Future Arrangements

The journey of Xendit is far from finished. For Moses, the future holds both challenges and excitement. Regulatory environments will continue to evolve, competition will increase, and customer expectations will rise. But he believes that with the right culture, a clear mission, and resilient technology, Xendit is well positioned to continue leading.

His advice to other entrepreneurs is straightforward. Start with a real problem. Move quickly to test solutions. Be prepared to pivot when the market shows you a better path. And above all, build a team that shares the vision and is willing to work through the ups and downs.

Xendit began as a small experiment and has grown into a cornerstone of Southeast Asia’s digital economy. At the heart of this story is Moses Lo, who combined vision, resilience, and a belief in people to create something transformative. The company is proof that with the right blend of technology and culture, even the most complex challenges can be solved.

Moses Lo, Co-Founder & CEO, Xendit

We pivoted fast to meet the region’s needs and built a payments infrastructure that simply works.