
In
some recent good news for e-money operators, this last restriction appears to
have been lifted. The Regulation on Funds Transfer 14/23 /PBI/2012 has a specific provision, Article 4, that
says that Cash Payment Points (Tempat Penguangan Tunai or “TPT’s”) are allowed
to provide a cash-out service without requiring a funds transfer license. Although this regulation doesn’t specifically
mention e-money, it is covered as one of the “record keeping” systems as
specified in the definitions of this regulation.
This change will cover cashing into or out
from a customer’s own wallet, but it’s still not clear if it would cover “over
the counter” or “wallet to non-wallet” transactions. Bank Indonesia is working
on a circular to help clarify these points which is expected in the coming
quarter.
In recent months, representatives from Bank
Indonesia have made some significant statements on their desire to see more
innovative and financially inclusive services from both banks and mobile
operators. While banks are still awaiting promised guidelines on branchless
banking, it’s good to see the sorts of transactions available to e-money
providers expand and I look forward to seeing e-money issuers and funds
transfer providers take advantage of this change.
The regulation in Bahasa Indonesia is
available here. An unofficial English translation is
available here.
- Michael Joyce
Michael Joyce is a policy advisor working with the Government of Indonesia on mobile money and financial inclusion. He has been working on mobile money in Asia for five years, specialising in risk, regulation and operations. The views on this blog are his own and do not represent the views of the Government of Indonesia or constitute legal advice.
Thanks for the post Mike. Great to see some positive progress. We are all excited about the fantastic prospects for branchless banking in Indonesia!
ReplyDeleteMuch is made about the diverse spread of Indonesia's islands, however some key stats are:
ReplyDelete- Java has a population of 135m and accounts for 60% of national GDP
- Sumatra has a population of 50m and accounts for 25% of national GDP
Watch for payment innovations to be focused in these these commercially viable islands.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2013/02/05/xl-western-union-launch-mobile-service.html
ReplyDeleteFurther to the above- a local MNO, XL has teamed up with Western Union to do remittance to m-wallet and cash out at mini-mart chain Alfamart.
The key numbers here are;
5.3m: Indonesian overseas workers
500k: Western Union agents globally
45m: XL subscribers in Indonesia (XL is part of the Axiata Group)
7,700: Alfamart mini-marts located in the islands of Java, Sumatra, Bali and Sulawesi)
One to keep an eye on...
Congratulations Michael, this is great news!
ReplyDeleteabout time this thing is coming to Indonesia
ReplyDeleteI have found here much useful information for myself. Many thanks to the editors for the info.
ReplyDeleteMoney Wire Services