TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Darmin Nasution has demanded financial technology or fintech companies be mindful of the security of their users. They are also expected to directly connect to the real economic sector that had started to adopt technologies.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) recorded a total of 113 fintechs operating this year: 38 percent of which are fintech payments and 38 percent were lending services.

Throughout last year, the total digital transactions reached Rp47.19 billion. Therefore, considering the rampant cases of inhuman billings, Darmin underlined that each fintech firm must have strong, serious risk management and consumer protection.

He went on to say that coordination between fintech players and stakeholders were necessary, and that fintechs must also promote financial literacy to the public. He added that infrastructure availability, strong regulation framework, and clarification of digital data ownership must be tightened.

Darmin further hoped fintech development could boost the country’s financial inclusion. “Fintechs are expected to reach people in secluded, outermost areas of Indonesia,” he said at the Jakarta Convention Center, Monday, September 23.

The OJK data in 2016 showed that only 68.7 percent of Indonesians had access to the formal financial institutions, while the government was aiming at a 75 percent financial inclusion rate by 2019.

CAESAR AKBAR