K-pop group NCT Dream to lure a million customers for Allo Bank

(May 19): An Indonesian digital bank is expecting to add at least a million customers by making people register for its new app to attend shows by K-pop groups Red Velvet and NCT Dream.

PT Allo Bank Indonesia, which had just 200,000 clients in January, is banking on the music festival starting this Friday to officially launch its app and boost its adoption. Its shares rose 1.7% on Thursday, the most in almost three weeks.

Tapping into the fanbase of K-pop groups has become a common strategy among tech startups seeking to capture young Indonesian consumers. E-commerce platform Tokopedia has used BTS as its brand ambassador, while Shopee made a jingle with Blackpink.

Allo Bank is backed by Indonesian marketplace PT Bukalapak.com, which owns a 11.49% stake, while conglomerate Salim Group holds a 6% indirect stake. PT Mega Corpora is the controlling shareholder with 60.88% stake.