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

India ranks among the world’s top compact SUV markets!

India overtook Japan in 2017 as the third largest manufacturer of compact SUVs. Big players such as Renault, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ford Motor, Hyundai Motor, Maruti Suzuki and other SUV manufacturers sold 457,698 compact SUVs in 2017 – over four times the unit sales in 2015, at 107,634. While 2016 saw shrinking sales for this vehicle category in China and the USA, sales in India grew nearly 50% from 307,365 units in 2016. Will India overtake China as the world’s largest compact SUV market? For more information, click here.

Asian consumers embrace local brands

With growing regional integration and rising incomes, more Asian consumers are choosing Asian brands against foreign brands. Xiaomi, an Asian brand, outsold Apple in China in 2014 for the first time. Brunei based brand – Brunei Halal – recently opened stores in Malaysia targeting its Muslim population. The Indian government’s knowledge website initiative – known as Vikaspedia and offering content in 22 different local languages – is gaining ground. Taobao, Air Asia, Alipay, Huawei, Siam Cement, San Miguel, Tiger Beer and Indofood are other Asian brands that are on the march. They all hail from countries other than Japan, Korea and Taiwan, the traditional sources of Asian brands. Will more Asian brands take the leap to become global brands as the top Japanese and Korean brands have become? https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/asian-consumers-embrace-local-brands/

Spire joins AmCham Corporate Community Day for seventh consecutive year

Spire Singapore collaborated with the Singapore Children’s Society for the fourth consecutive year, in support of AmCham Singapore’s Corporate Community Day (CCD) 2014. This is the seventh year in which Spire has been participating in the CCD program, which aims to promote corporate volunteerism. Spire Singapore took beneficiaries of the Singapore Children’s Society to a pizza making session. The children were thrilled by their new-found ability to make their own edible creations. They enjoyed the morning while at the same time picking up a useful and confidence-building skill, not to mention many fun facts about the history of pizza. We were honored by the visit of Deputy Chief of Mission at the US Embassy Blair Hall, who joined us with his wife Valerie. Valerie joined in the pizza making session. Blair and his team interacted with the beneficiaries as well as the staff and volunteers of Spire Singapore and the Singapore Children’s Society. The enthusiasm did not di...

Chocolate scent to increase book sales

Retailers might just use chocolate scent to induce shoppers to linger on in their bookstores to boost sales. Researchers in Belgium discovered that potential customers are more likely to end up with purchases if the store is filled with the scent of chocolate. Such pleasant scents can improve the store environment and lead the customers to explore stores more; often resulting in purchases. Marketers could strategize by exploring different scents to lure customers. The scents used should correspond to the products on sale for more impact. For instance, a surf shop can consider having the scent of the salty smell of the sea to provide its customers a whole new shopping experience. Which scent are you most drawn to?

Spire Client Entertainment Night April 2016

Spire Singapore hosted its first Client Entertainment Night of the year. Our business associates and partners joined us for a dinner reception followed by the movie screening of “Batman vs Superman: Dawn of Justice” – the epic showdown of superheroes. The event was held at Cathay Cineleisure Orchard. It was an opportunity for everyone to let their hair down and take a break from the office. With nearly two years gone since Superman’s battle with Zod – which left the city of Metropolis in ruins, leaving Batman helpless among many – Batman decides to avenge the threat to humanity while Lex Luthor conspires to launch his own vendetta against Superman. The highly anticipated action flick, the good food and even better company made for a great evening enjoyed by all. https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/events/spire-client-entertainment-night-april-2016/

The Knowledge to Decide

Search This Blog