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View all search resultsAnalysis: 200 million accounts: Financial inclusion or fiscal excess?
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President Prabowo Subianto chairs a limited cabinet meeting to discuss economic issues on Sept. 7, 2026, at the Presidential Palace Complex in Central Jakarta. (BPMI Setpres/-)
T
he government’s plan to spend an estimated Rp 11 trillion (US$619 million) opening bank accounts for more than 200 million Indonesians aged 17 and above is difficult to justify when fiscal space is already tight and financial inclusion has reached 93.61 percent. If the objective is to reach the unbanked or improve the delivery of social assistance, there is little reason to give new accounts to almost every adult, including those already banked. Scarce public funds should be targeted at people who actually need them.
The program will be implemented through two state-owned banks: Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) nationwide and Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) specifically in Aceh. Accounts are to be opened automatically, without recipients having to visit a branch, by matching population identification numbers (NIK) held by the civil registry with Bank Indonesia’s payment system, with QRIS serving as the gateway. Accounts belonging to people who are already banked would be consolidated and used for government programs, including cash social assistance.
The Rp 11 trillion figure remains an estimate, with no budget year yet determined and the scheme still being worked out with Bank Indonesia and the Financial Services Authority (OJK).
The program’s stated basis is the 2026 National Survey of Financial Literacy and Inclusion (SNLIK), released jointly by OJK, Statistics Indonesia (BPS) and the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) on Aug. 10. The survey put financial literacy at 69.57 percent and financial inclusion at 93.61 percent, with the latter already exceeding the 2029 target under the 2025-2029 National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN).
Coordinating Minister of Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto presented the results favorably, comparing Indonesia’s 69.57 percent financial literacy index with the OECD benchmark of 63 percent, while saying the government would continue working to improve it. The problem is that these figures provide a justification for doing less, not more. Moreover, LPS reported that 46.5 million Indonesians remain unbanked, of whom roughly 15.3 million are of working age.
This raises a further question, as the figure is far below the proposed target of 200 million people. Even providing Rp 50,000 to all 46.5 million unbanked Indonesians would cost only around Rp 2.33 trillion (US$126 million), roughly one-fifth of the estimated Rp 11 trillion being prepared for the program. The 200 million estimate therefore appears to have been derived from the number of people who could receive an account rather than those who actually need one.
Moreover, access to bank accounts has not been the main constraint on social-assistance distribution. The effectiveness of such programs depends more on the quality of the National Socioeconomic Single Data (DTSEN), the validity of national identification number (NIK) records and the integration of data across government agencies. If the objective is to improve the delivery of social assistance, strengthening these systems and ensuring that intended beneficiaries have access to accounts would be a more targeted approach.
