OJK Chairman: Accelerate FinTech Growth in Indonesia
As reported by Bareksa.com in October 2015 the development of financial technology (FinTech) is so rapid that the Financial Service Authority (OJK) is planning to form an Expert Panel on it. The panel is to review FinTech from various aspects (regulations, infrastructure, security, business mechanism, etc.), including learning study cases from other countries.
Dr. Muliaman D. Hadad, the OJK Chairman, stated, "We want to push so that FinTech grows even faster in Indonesia," while in discussion with FinTech Indonesia (the association of Indonesian FinTech service providers and pioneers) at the Sumitro building, October 26, 2015.
Also present in the discussion was Sujanto, Director of Investment Management of OJK. Meanwhile, among the pioneers were: Founder/CEO of Bareksa, Karaniya Dharmasaputra; Managing Director of Mountain Kejora Ventures, Sebastian Togelang; CEO of Compare88 Group, John Patrick Ellis; CEO of Kartuku, Niki Luhur; Director of Veritrans, Budi Gandasoebrata; Strategic Partnership Senior Manager of Doku, Alison Jap; COO of CekAja, Best Donald; and Director of Bareksa, Fajrin Hermansyah.
Muliaman added, "OJK's function is not just to monitor, but also to encourage and accelerate the availability of wider financial access for all Indonesians, - so that the financial industry becomes more inclusive... We are looking for breakthroughs."
Muliaman emphasizes that he is trying to lead the OJK to speed up the review and improvement for various regulations on FinTech, therefore, "We kindly ask for input; what policies are still unclear, what needs to be adjusted, and what kind of support is needed."
In regards to that, Muliaman hopes that Indonesia's FinTech can actively assist the government in raising local and small financial businesses so that they can compete with the big fish. Among the examples he mentioned were, "How to help Regional Development Banks, People's Credit Banks, cooperatives, and Village Financial Institutions in using technology, so they can also compete and thrive and thus our economy can be more efficient."
We see that it's an exciting but challenging road for the FinTech Indonesia association to work hand-in-hand with the Indonesian government on the issue above. A brief look on the background of FinTech Indonesia is as below.
FinTech Indonesia Association
FinTech Indonesia was founded on September 17, 2015 in Jakarta, during the InvestDay 2015 event, which was also attended by the Coordinating Economics Minister, Dr. Darmin Nasution.
Karaniya Dharmasaputra, who was also there, stated, "FinTech Indonesia is founded so that FinTech businessmen and the government can cooperate intensively to form a conducive ecosystem for the development of Indonesia's FinTech.
Similar initiatives are being done all over the world, in Singapore, Malaysia, the UK, the US, and Australia just to name some. Governments and regulators are embracing FinTech companies, banks, and other key players to study, research and form the future financial ecosystem as FinTech grows.
"In Singapore, the MAS (Monetary Authority of Singapore) has already formed the FinTech Group and Advisory Panel," said J.P. Ellis, Compare88 Group.
Ellis also explained that there are three main areas to be the focus of Indonesia's FinTech: (1) providing policy research and maintaining relationship with government/regulator; (2) growing the FinTech community through various education programs, dialogues, and public campaigns; and (3) bridging the Indonesian FinTech community with other global FinTech institutions and communities.