B

anking customers will be able to enjoy full interbank transfer services at any automated teller machine (ATM) starting from July with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between three local interbank network providers, according to a Bank Indonesia (BI) executive.

The three companies '€” PT Artajasa Pembayaran Elektronis (provider of ATM Bersama network), PT Rintis Sejahtera (Prima) and PT Daya Network Lestari (ALTO) '€” are scheduled to sign the MoU in Jakarta on May 6.

Under the MoU, Artajasa, Rintis and Daya agree to integrate their networks, so ATM cardholders can transfer money to different banks.

According to BI executive director of accounting and payment systems Boedi Armanto, the MoU is the first of several phases of partnership between the local interbank networks.

'€œThe central bank encourages the companies to prioritize the interbank transfer service because apparently it is the most preferred service by customers when they use ATMs. We can proceed with other services after that,'€ he said recently.

BI data on debit card usage shows that, since 2007, the transfer service transaction value has consistently been higher than those for other uses. In February 2013, transfer service grew 28.8 percent to Rp 142.37 trillion (US$14.62 billion) from a year before.

It made up for 52.7 percent of the total debit card transaction value in February, followed by cash withdrawal with 43.9 percent and shopping with 3.4 percent.

As of February 2013, there were 74.37 million ATM and debit cards in Indonesia, according to BI.

The February data from Artajasa, Rintis and Daya shows similar results in terms of transfer and cash withdrawal services. Artajasa recorded that transfer and cash withdrawal accounted for 71 percent and 29 percent, respectively.

Rintis reported that transfer accounted for 87 percent and cash withdrawal stood at 13 percent. Meanwhile, according to Daya, the transfer service made up for 75 percent and cash withdrawal contributed to 25 percent.

Boedi said that the integration of services in July was expected to assist customers with money transfers because the traffic of money transfers was generally high entering the fasting month of Ramadan, which this year falls in July.

Currently, Artajasa'€™s ATM Bersama is adopted by 81 banks, ranging from state-owned banks (Bank Mandiri, BNI, BRI) to foreign banks (HSBC, Citibank, Rabobank). Rintis'€™s Prima is popularly associated with BCA even though it also partners with other banks, such as Bukopin and Permata Bank. Meanwhile, Daya'€™s membership comprises several banks, such as Panin Bank.

The bank'€™s adoption of a certain interbank network is not exclusive as banks can also use some other systems. Permata and Mandiri are two examples of banks that adopt more than one system. Permata uses ATM Bersama, Prima and ALTO while Mandiri uses ATM Bersama and Prima.

Besides the aforementioned companies, there are three other interbank network providers in Indonesia: PT Mastercard Indonesia with its Cirrus network, PT Union Pay Indonesia with CUP and PT Visa Worldwide Indonesia with Plus.

Mandiri senior vice president for electronic banking Rico Usthavia Frans said that the bank welcomed the network integration as it would provide Mandiri with wider business coverage. However, it has not decided whether or not it will keep both interbank services.

Mandiri currently has 10,985 ATMs, and between 10 million and 11 million ATM and debit cards. In the first quarter of 2013, its average ATM transaction volume stood at 218.1 million, while the transaction value amounted to Rp 179.3 trillion.

The bank gained Rp 286 billion in income from transfer and retail transactions, up 17.2 percent from the first quarter of 2012.

Similar to Rico, Permata executive vice president for transaction banking Rudy Tandjung said that Permata had not taken any decision regarding its membership within the three local switching companies. '€œThere will be a separate business calculation for that,'€ he said in a telephone interview.