Spire speaks on Digital Financial Services in Indonesia at the ITU Workshop in Geneva

As payment transactions become digitalized, it is crucial to ensure digital financial services are accessible to the poor at affordable rates and in a scalable manner. Recognizing this need, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) organized a workshop on ‘Digital Financial Services and Financial Inclusion’ for ITU member states, ICT regulators and Financial Service providers from across the globe to discuss key industry trends, opportunities and challenges at the ITU headquarters in Geneva.

Jeffrey Bahar, Deputy Chief Executive Officer of the Spire Research and Consulting group, was honored to be a part of the workshop. In his presentation, Bahar highlighted initiatives by the Indonesian Government and the private sector to implement bulk payment services for beneficiaries.

Bahar mentioned the Government to People (G2P) Payment option for Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) – the Family Hope Program – where beneficiaries are entitled to cash grants from the government through PKH. These beneficiaries are poor families who have children in school and regularly visit healthcare service facilities. Moreover, PKH offers Kartu Keluarga Sejahtera (KKS) cards – also known as Social Security Cards – which offer financial assistance to poor families via a deposit account as part of the national strategy for financial inclusion for education (Kartu Indonesia Pintar) and health (Kartu Indonesia Sehat) services.

At the same time, PKH reached its 2015 target of 3.5 million families. It has set a target to reach 15.5 million families by 2016. With 150 million active mobile phone users in Indonesia (as of 2015), this digital financial service has potential to grow much more.

On the other hand, the private sector also offers mobile money services. A joint collaboration between Standard Chartered Bank and Indosat Dompetku led to the launch of the ‘Straight2Bank’ wallet service in July 2015 for corporate clients (of Standard Chartered). This service starts at the Corporate Bank, which give loans to a cooperative. It is offered through a mobile application (wallet) platform from a Telco provider.

Interestingly, as at 2015 Indosat Dompetku had 191,000 cash in/cash out outlet points across Indonesia. Under this scheme, cash is electronically transferred to the customer’s registered mobile number, which can be checked via SMS or an e-cash menu on the mobile phone.

Nevertheless, roadblocks remain. There are limitations for the PKH program. Many beneficiaries immediately withdraw funds – which means they do not save money in the account. Moreover, telecommunication infrastructure is limited in many areas of Indonesia. The database on sectoral poverty is not unified, as in it is still controlled by multiple government agencies.

https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-speaks-on-digital-financial-services-in-indonesia-at-the-itu-workshop-in-geneva/

Comments

Spire sponsors INBC Salmon Evening to explore business opportunities in aqua farming

Indonesia is the world’s third largest aquaculture producer. What business prospects lie in Indonesia’s aqua farming industry? Spire Research and Consulting was honored to be a sponsor and speaker at the Indonesia Norway Business Council (INBC) Salmon Evening in Jakarta – an event aimed at exploring trends and potential business opportunities in Indonesia’s aqua farming industry. At the event, Franklin Crum, Manager, Client Service of Spire Research and Consulting, spoke about aqua farming and the untapped opportunities in this industry. He remarked that Indonesia, being the third largest aquaculture producer worldwide (trailing closely behind China and India), saw an average annual increase of 30.9% in aquaculture production volume from 2009 to 2012. Crum commented that opportunities in aqua farming are abundant. There is an increasing demand for high-value fish species such as snapper, grouper, pompano and barramundi as well as rising supply of fingerlings (young fish) for ...

FIFA World Cup 2018 holds lessons for successful team building

The FIFA World Cup 2018 is widely seen as one of the best World Cups in recent memory, with many surprises and goals aplenty. One talking point was the role of teamwork as opposed to just superstar talent. What lessons can businesses learn from the beautiful game? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his thoughts in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 23 July 2018. As World Cup fever draws to an end, the game lived up to its hype with breath-taking goals and outstanding performances. Perera highlighted the role of 'team effort' over mere individual talent, which was evident in the early failure of teams with world-class superstars like Argentina and Portugal. Perera also pointed out the importance of investing in new talent pipeline development, which paid rich dividends for France, the winning team and also one of the youngest teams in the World Cup. The game also highlighted the role of risk-taking. A relentless approach t...

Will Indonesia’s new government be favorable for economic growth?

What will be the impact of Indonesia’s recent Presidential and legislative elections on its growing economy? Leon Perera, Chief Executive Officer of Spire Research and Consulting, shared his insights in Business Times – Singapore. Mr. Joko’s likely victory in the Presidential elections of Indonesia would mean improved competitiveness through continued economic reforms. He would probably continue working on attracting direct foreign investment, build infrastructure, continue civil service reform, promote special economic zones and for locally sourced commodities to nurture value added processing. Mr. Joko’s second term would also be beneficial for Indonesia’s ICT startup sector. However the pace of the economic reforms may be slow, owing to the signs that the new legislature may possibly enhance the weight of social conservatives in politics. Read more : https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/media/will-indonesias-new-government-be-favorable-for-economic-growth/...

Spire teams up with Singapore’s Land Transport Authority for Taxi Customer Satisfaction Survey

With an increased rating of overall quality of taxi services in Singapore up to 60.3% in 2015 from 52.4% in 2014, these findings appeared in the Land Transport Authority’s (LTA) third annual Taxi Customer Satisfaction Survey (TCSS) conducted by Spire Research and Consulting. The survey measures regular taxi commuters’ satisfaction with taxi services. It also aims to understand commuters’ expectations and identify areas for improvement. What are the areas for improvement? The findings of the survey were also published on LTA’s website. Spire’s survey spans across 1,200 regular taxi commuters (aged 15 years and above) interviewed between August to September 2015. Taxi commuters were questioned on eight key service attributes to include driver’s knowledge of routes, safety of taxi services, taxi stand accessibility, customer service, ease of taxi booking, ride comfort, waiting time and information on taxi services. According to the survey, safety continues to be a concern am...

Spirethoughts: No show for Wal-Mart in India

The highly anticipated re-entry of one of the biggest names in retail, Wal-Mart, into India was a huge disappointment. It has recently dissolved a six-year joint venture with Bharti Enterprises, and eagerly awaits the upcoming general elections; which could mean easing up of restriction on foreign retailers. At present, the laws required foreign retailers to source 30 per cent of their goods from small and medium-sized suppliers; making it harder for them to compete against domestic supermarkets which are not saddled with such restrictions. Besides, foreign investors are obligated to partner a domestic player so as to enter the India market, with up to 51 percent ownership in local operations. This has resulted in rising investors’ concerns with regards to having no control over the domestic business. Besides, the brand’s reputation could be tarnished if the local player engages in unethical acts, such as corruption and tax battles. Other global retailers are keeping a cl...

The Knowledge to Decide

Search This Blog