NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

Thursday, May 18, 2017

Early adopters of branchless and electronic banking services in Indonesia are vulnerable to agent misconduct due to a low public awareness of banking products, says a survey conducted by financial service consultancy firm MicroSave published on Tuesday (16/05).

The survey, which sampled 1,414 customers across 15 provinces in Indonesia, found that only 27 percent of branchless banking users and 15 percent of e-money users across the archipelago are aware of transaction charges imposed by banks. As a result, customers are left vulnerable to overcharges by banking agents.

“Agents usually charge ‘thank you fees’ for almost all transactions,” Ghiyazuddin Mohammad, a senior manager at MicroSave, said.