Jakarta (ANTARA) – The Financial Services Authority (OJK) is supporting efforts to increase digital financial literacy and inclusion in villages, OJK’s deputy director of financial inclusion development, Rose Dian Sundari, has said.
It is hoped that OJK’s efforts would accelerate the digitalization of both local and national micro, small, and medium (MSMEs) enterprises amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she added.
During an online seminar entitled ‘Digital SME Confidence Report’, accessed from here on Tuesday, Sundari said the pandemic has affected OJK’s efforts to increase inclusion, but the agency will continue to encourage MSMEs to use digital products.
Indonesian people have started to become aware and knowledgeable regarding the use of digital financial products and services, she noted. However, there is still a gap between urban and rural populations despite the overall rise in the rate of financial literacy and inclusion, she added.
“One of the challenges is that Indonesia has a variety of regional conditions in terms of geography and demographics,” Sundari explained.
The OJK has made a number of regulations and programs to accelerate efforts to achieve digital financial literacy and equitable inclusion in villages, she said.
One of them is Presidential Regulation No. 114 of 2020 regarding Financial Inclusivity National Strategy, which covers the financial education program, consumer protection, as well as the Regional Financial Access Acceleration Team (TPAKD) program, she added.
The TPAKD is a coordination forum between institutions and stakeholders to boost the acceleration of financial access in regional areas to support the growth of the regional economy and help make residents prosper, Sundari said.
“We hope that digital literacy for MSMEs will increase, especially since there is TPAKD in regional areas, where there are only a small number of MSMEs who have been touched by digital transaction activities,” she remarked.
The programs are supported by regional governments, so financial literacy and inclusion should increase at a faster pace, she added.
Source: Antara News