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RI's financial literacy remains among lowest in Asia
Big event: Federation of Private Domestic Banks (Perbanas) chairman Sigit Pramono (left) converses with a member of the Indonesian Banking Expo (IBEX) 2015 organizing committee, Silvia Kardena (right), and Carlia T
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Big event: Federation of Private Domestic Banks (Perbanas) chairman Sigit Pramono (left) converses with a member of the Indonesian Banking Expo (IBEX) 2015 organizing committee, Silvia Kardena (right), and Carlia T. Djajadisastra at the announcement of the event in Jakarta on Thursday. The exhibition, which is being held for the fifth time by Perbanas, will take place from Sept. 9 to 11 and will be a medium to exchange ideas between the banking sector and the public so as to boost digital banking.(Antara/Audy Alwi) (Perbanas) chairman Sigit Pramono (left) converses with a member of the Indonesian Banking Expo (IBEX) 2015 organizing committee, Silvia Kardena (right), and Carlia T. Djajadisastra at the announcement of the event in Jakarta on Thursday. The exhibition, which is being held for the fifth time by Perbanas, will take place from Sept. 9 to 11 and will be a medium to exchange ideas between the banking sector and the public so as to boost digital banking.(Antara/Audy Alwi)
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span class="inline inline-center">Big event: Federation of Private Domestic Banks (Perbanas) chairman Sigit Pramono (left) converses with a member of the Indonesian Banking Expo (IBEX) 2015 organizing committee, Silvia Kardena (right), and Carlia T. Djajadisastra at the announcement of the event in Jakarta on Thursday. The exhibition, which is being held for the fifth time by Perbanas, will take place from Sept. 9 to 11 and will be a medium to exchange ideas between the banking sector and the public so as to boost digital banking.(Antara/Audy Alwi)
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) is targeting a 2 percent increase in Indonesia's financial literacy and inclusion by 2016, which presently ranks among the lowest in the Asia-Pacific region.
As a step to achieving this target, the OJK and the Federation of Private Domestic Banks (Perbanas) Institute signed an agreement on Thursday to cooperate on improving the level of financial literacy and financial inclusion in the country.
OJK commissioner for consumer education and protection Kusumaningtuti S. Soetiono said that cooperation was vital in driving up financial literacy numbers in Indonesia. Some of the measures that both the OJK and Perbanas Institute will carry out include improvements in university syllabuses that familiarize students with the OJK and the financial industry.
'Our cooperation will be carried out in the form of collaborative academic research and providing assistance to ongoing research in the development of financial services, literacy and access, as well as consumer protection,' she said on Thursday as quoted by kompas.com.
Kusumangtuti, who is affectionately called Titu, noted that financial inclusion in Indonesia was still relatively low at 59.7 percent. Financial literacy stood at 21.8 percent by the end of 2013.
Indonesia and the Philippines scored the lowest in the financial literacy index in the Asia-Pacific region, according to the MasterCard Financial Literacy Index published in April. On basic money management, the Philippines scored 73, while Indonesia scored 70. Both were lower than the Asia-Pacific average of 75.
Besides the Perbanas Institute, the OJK has forged collaborations with several other major educational institutions including the University of Indonesia, Gadjah Mada University, Diponegoro University and Malang Muhammadiyah University.
Meanwhile, in an additional effort to raise Indonesia's financial literacy, Perbanas, in association with the OJK, will hold the upcoming 2015 Indonesian Banking Expo at the Jakarta Convention Centre from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11.
Perbanas chairman Sigit Pramono explained that the focus for this year's expo would be on making digital banking more accessible to the wider public.
He said that while digital banking services in Indonesia's largest cities were already top notch, the same could not yet be said for other areas of the country. The expo, Sigit added, would be attended by many high ranking banking and government officials who would discuss how to increase financial literacy, especially in regards to digital banking.
'The focus of banks who wish to increase their outreach shouldn't be on the expensive practice of opening new branches or ATMs. In order to improve the financial literacy of the wider public, banking regulators and players must now focus on digital banking by effectively promoting its usage,' Sigit told reporters at the Perbanas headquarters in Jakarta on Thursday.
The expo will discuss a range of issues, among them the development of digital banking for social accessibility, as well as banking cybersecurity, digital integration and how to face current global and national issues associated with the banking industry.
'Access does not merely mean the amount of banks available in the country. It is how the public can effectively access these services,' Sigit added.
