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Fintech has to be diversified: Association
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (center) and Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati (third right) look at a digital display at the Fintech Festival event in Jakarta. (tempo.co/File)
W
hile financial technology has taken off in the Indonesian market, there are still segments that players and startups have not explored, an expert has said, calling for gradually diversifying the industry.
One particular opportunity that has not been tapped much is remittances, which play a vital role for Indonesia as migrant workers send money home to their families.
Indonesian Fintech Association chairman Niki Luhur noted that if a clear know-your-customer (KYC) standard was to be implemented across ASEAN, it would help ease the remittance sending process by removing obstacles from national regulations.
(Read also: Fintech players demand full support from OJK)
“We hope that because of the ASEAN Economic Community, a harmonization of standards can take place in ASEAN, so that the region can be more effectively integrated. Our migrant workers will be able to work with ease,” he said at the Centre of Strategic and International Studies in Jakarta on Wednesday.
There are already some local fintech firms that operate in the remittance segment, including Intrajasa and Indosat Ooredoo’s Dompetku service for migrants working in China, but Niki feels that their number is still very low compared to other segments, such as peer-to-peer lending and e-wallets.
“But in the end, fintech is growing here, and there are so many problems to tackle and opportunities to explore in the short time it has grown,” he added. (bbn)
