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

The European Union-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) is set to open doors for Vietnamese exporters

On 30 June, 2019, the European Union signed its first free trade deal with a developing Asian country – Vietnam, one of the fastest growing economies in Southeast Asia. The EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) would reduce 99% of tariffs on goods and services traded between European and Vietnamese markets. WVietnam’s exports to the EU were valued at 50 billion euros in 2018. This figure is expected to increase by 40% by 2025 under EVFTA. Between the years 2024 – 2028, the agreement would boost Vietnam’s gross domestic product by 5 to 6% annually. Will the EVFTA herald a closer economic relationship between Vietnam and Europe? For more information : https://www.spireresearch.com/newsroom/spirethoughts/the-european-union-vietnam-free-trade-agreement-evfta-is-set-to-open-doors-for-vietnamese-exporters/

Android market in India

- Saurabh Sharma, Country Manager, Spire Research and Consulting India can easily be considered as an Android country since 91% of its market share belongs to devices using Google’s mobile operating system. It is an open-source, Linux-based operating system designed specifically for smartphones and computer tablets. This facilitates easy accessibility for programmers to provide enhanced services as well as improve the core functionality of the device. According to statistics, the Android platform has breached 80% market share globally in the third quarter of 2013. With 40 million smartphones in the country, Indian users have an easy access to smartphones to stay connected online. With more consumers wanting to get their hands on smartphones and computer tablets, this has unsurprisingly pushed for the dominance of Androids across markets. Moreover, Androids is adopted by all major smartphone players in India – local players such as Karbonn and Micromax, as we...

Confidence key to Singapore’s success Can Singapore cultivate a culture of confidence as it turns 53? Leon Perera, CEO of Spire Research and Consulting shared his insights in The Business Times – Views from the Top section on 6 August 2018 on Singapore’s future. As Singapore ushers in another year of independence, more confidence needs to be instilled. Intelligent risk-taking will be key to the next phase of Singapore’s development. Perera highlighted that familiarity with past successes should not inhibit fresh, innovative thinking and experimentation with new strategies. Therefore, it is crucial for leaders to inspire trust and also for Singaporeans to cultivate greater trust in one another to be good citizens, thus engendering the social capital necessary for national success. The text of Perera’s comments are provided below. A comprehensive Korean peace treaty and denuclearization agreement are worthwhile goals to pursue. But it is unlikely that the North ...

Game markets: Asia and China

In recent years, the Asia Pacific gaming industry has attracted the attention of investors, developers and analysts. Within Asia, Japan, South Korea and China are the leading markets. The Asia Pacific remains the largest games market and is expected to reach USD71.4 billion in revenue, with a spectacular 39 per cent growth in 2018. By 2021, domestic market revenue in China is poised to increase from USD27 billion to USD35 billion. Asia’s gaming market is being transformed by Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) technology as well as gaming on social media platforms. Above all, Esports looks set to transform the industry. These were the findings from a study conducted by Spire Research and Consulting in Q3 2018. Gaming market in Asia Pacific (APAC) The Asia-Pacific region has been leading the global electronic game market. In 2017, total revenue from the gaming market reached USD51.2 billion, almost twice the revenue of the second-ranked North American region. ...

2022: Recovery or Resurgence?

The Covid-19 pandemic officially marks a grim second year this year. Nonetheless, there is some optimism among scientists that while the virus will become endemic, its threat to human life could reduce over time. In the first of a three-part Spirethoughts instalment examining analysts’ predictions for the new year ahead, we look at 3 economic and social trends that are likely to affect the global economy in 2022. Debt and inflation to grow . Global debt accelerated during the pandemic as governments continued to borrow. Twenty-five nations, including the US and China, now have total debt amounting to more than 300% of GDP, as central banks contribute to inflation by printing money, deepening the debt trap. Inflation, while on the rise, seems unlikely to hit the historic double-digit levels of the 1970s, as government spending should ease in 2022. Industries overheat amid global warming “greenflation”. The other continuing story with global imp...

The Knowledge to Decide

Search This Blog