TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - State-owned bank, Bank Rakyat Indonesia or BRI, as of March 2021 has closed 341 branch offices following the banking digitalization.

BRI Corporate Secretary, Aestika Oryza Gunarto, stated that the closing of branch offices is a response to changes in people’s behavior where the existence and function of conventional bank diminishes over time.

"The pandemic has become an accelerator of digitization, thus accelerating the existing process," said Aestika, Wednesday, July 21.
Until the end of March 2021, BRI has 9,241 outlets. This figure is 341 less compared to the number of the bank outlets in March 2020, which was 9,582 branch offices.

In the future, BRI will continue to focus on carrying out digital transformation, focusing on business areas, transactions, ecosystems and internal processes.

Data from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) as of April 2021 showed that the number of banking branch offices is 29,780 units. There has been a decrease of 1,232 units compared to the same period last year.
OJK Deputy Director of Basel and International Banking, Tony, previously said that the number of bank branch offices has continued to decline recently as a result of the digital transformation.

Back in 2015, there were 32,963 bank branches and as of March 2021 it was reduced to 29,889 branch offices. Thus, over the last six years, the bank has reduced 3,074 branch offices in the country.

According to Tony, this is not only happening in Indonesia, yet almost all countries in the world. In various parts of the world, the concept of digital bank, neo bank, and challenger bank has emerged.

He explained that banks use digital technology to provide services to the public. In Indonesia, there are several banks that have claimed and even transformed themselves into digital banks.

"There are even those who claim that they will become a fully digital bank," Tony said in a webinar, Thursday, June 10.

Read: BRI Listed in Forbes World's Largest Public Companies, Global 2000

Bisnis.com | Maudey K. Setyakusuma (Intern)