TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Financial Services Authority's (OJK) Investment Alert Task Force until early October discovered 133 fintech companies conducting illegal peer-to-peer lending services that are not registered with the OJK. The task force has immediately shut down its business and operations.

As of October 2019, the total number of illegal fintech entities blocked by the task force had reached 1,073 companies—including the 133 recently-shut ones.

The Investment Task Force chief, Tongam L Tobing, said that the public needs more dissemination and education about the importance of recognizing and choosing legitimate lenders, with licenses to operate from the financial services authority.

"Offers of online loans from unlicensed fintech lenders can bring harm to the public," Tongam said in a press release on Tuesday, October 15.

He said that the task force will take decisive actions as they do not want to see more people becoming victims of illegal lending activities.

"We continue to hunt them down, and we immediately process them by law as well as request the Information Ministry to block them," Tongam said.

To raise public awareness, the task force is collaborating with Jakarta's Communication and Information Office to broadcast and disseminate public service announcements to remind the public to avoid illegal lenders.

ANTARA