The new guidelines cover a set of words and phrases that are allowed and prohibited in advertisements for banking, insurance, multifinancing as well as leasing products and services.

One example of the prohibition is using superlatives, such as “the best” or “the biggest”, in their advertisements without any credible evidence that can back their claims.

Should banks and companies need to use those words or phrases, they should also include credible evidence, such as awards or independent research, in their ads that could support those claims, said Tirta Segara, the OJK’s commissioner of consumer protection and education.

He added that other than the use of superlatives, the new guidelines would also ensure that players created accurate and clear advertisements that were not misleading.

This means that banks and companies must also provide adequate information about their products, such as detailed terms and conditions, including any promises of prizes and rewards offered.

They should also eliminate vague impressions that are often found in advertisements, such as “this product has the most gains and the smallest risks”.

“We want people to receive good information just by seeing the ads, so we can prevent them from being harmed due to asymmetry of information,” Tirta said in Jakarta recently, referring to a condition in which one party has more or better information than the other.

Asymmetry of information normally manifests itself when the sellers of goods and services have greater knowledge than the buyers. While the situation occurred in almost all economic transactions, oftentimes customers needed to be educated to improve their bargaining position, according to the OJK.

Tirta said companies would sometimes intentionally leave out important details in their advertisements to entice more customers.

Twenty five-year-old Tia Yudi Larasati was one of those who were enticed by these advertisements.

"I opened a bank account a few years ago just to get a free iPhone [as a reward]," she said, adding that the bank automatically took a certain amount of money from her account for a few months.

Although she felt like she was a "victim" of the advertisement, she did not think she was in some ways tricked to open the account as she was fully aware of the requirements in order to get the iPhone.

However, some people might not be as aware as Tia because they often complain on social media and online forums because they did not read the fine print.

According to the OJK’s financial inclusion survey in 2016, about 67.8 percent of people used financial products and services. However, only 29.7 percent could be categorized as financially literate, signaling that there were just a few who really understood the benefit and risks of the products and services they bought.

This was reflected in the OJK’s 2018 report released by its customer care service. Since the authority launched its new call center last year, the number of phone calls jumped to 221.6 percent, most of whom asked information about certain financial products or services.

“Of the 82,712 calls that came in last year, about 76,774 were inquiries about some financial service institutions or the legality of the institutions and products, among other questions,” said Rudi Saleh Susetyo, the OJK’s head of consumer protection department.

Digital marketing expert Yuswohady told The Jakarta Post that he acknowledged the fact that financial service companies often hid details about the risks that customers face.

"Just like medicine, financial products also have their own 'side effects’,” he said. “In the case of financial products, [the side effect is] a loss of money or assets."

As financial products were risky in nature, Yuswohady added, the new OJK guidelines would enhance customer protection and educate people that risks always entail any transactions or purchases despite the nice words displayed in the advertisements, particularly for those who were less literate on financial matters.

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