Padang, 3 December 2016 – Consistent in serving lower-income communities, including pensioners, micro, small and medium Enterprises (MSMEs), as well as productive poor communities, PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk (BTPN) continues to play an active role in encouraging financial inclusion in Indonesia.
Through BTPN Wow!, a banking service which utilizes mobile phone technology and is supported by a vast network of agents who facilitate banking transactions, BTPN offers financial access to people in remote areas who have previously not had any access to formal financial services. BTPN Wow! is a BTPN product which forms part of the Laku Pandai (Branchless Banking in the Framework of Financial Inclusion) initiated by the Indonesia Financial Services Authority (OJK).
To further introduce BTPN Wow!, the Laku Pandai Program and the Gerakan Ayo Menabung (Let’s Save Money Movement) in West Sumatra, BTPN stages an event titled Elok Laku Pandai Manabuang - Ayo Menabung dalam Rangka Inklusi Keuangan (Let’s Save Money in the Framework of Financial Inclusion) at GOR H Agus Salim stadium in Padang on Saturday, 3 December 2016. This event is attended by Chairman of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Muliaman D Hadad, Minister of Apparatus Empowerment and Bureaucratic Reform Asman Abnur, and Governor of West Sumatera Irwan Prayitno.
The event, which is the result of a collaboration between BTPN, the OJK, the West Sumatra Provincial Government and Alumni of Andalas University, is held to develop financial literacy and promote financial inclusion, particularly in West Sumatra. The people of West Sumatra are known as very enthusiastic savers and this is the source of great potential as the area’s public funds will eventually get channeled into regional development.
“We really appreciate the Laku Pandai Program initiated by the OJK. Laku Pandai is a fantastic breakthrough which enables banks to reach communities in far-flung corners of the country that to date have never had access to banking services. We hope that today’s successful event will help make communities more familiar with the Laku Pandai Program, the Gerakan Ayo Menabung (Let’s Save Money Movement) as well as BTPN Wow!, especially here in the province of West Sumatera,” enthused Deputy President Director of BTPN Ongki W. Dana.
BTPN Wow! is a savings account that can be accessed using a GSM-based mobile phone. Using USSD technology, or Unstructured Supplementary Services Data, BTPN Wow! can operate on all types of GSM-based mobile phones (not necessary to use a smartphone), even with a weak signal. With the assistance of a network of service agents, people who live far from urban centers can now enjoy banking services without having to travel a long way to find a bank branch or ATM.
“Customers can open an account, and deposit or withdraw cash through an agent with very low fees. Furthermore, a variety of other transactions, including money transfers, phone credit purchases, ticket purchases as well as payments of electricity/water bills, telephone bills, insurance premiums and TV subscriptions, can be performed by mobile phone. These transactions can be done simply by entering *247#,” Ongki continued.
In West Sumatera, BTPN Wow! currently has 2,681 agents and 42,193 customers. These BTPN Wow! agents and customers are widely distributed across 13 separate areas in the province, namely Agam, Lima Puluh Koto, Padang Pariaman, Pesisir Selatan, Sijunjung, Solok, Tanah Datar, Bukittinggi, Padang, Padang Panjang, Pariaman, Payakumbuh and Solok. Meanwhile, nationwide, as of November 2016, BTPN Wow! boasted an impressive total of 2.5 million customers and 147 thousand agents.
Thanks to its remarkable initiative BTPN Wow!, BTPN has made it onto Fortune Magazine’s “Fortune Change the World” list of 50 companies around the world adjudged to be performing well in resolving social problems while remaining profitable.
BTPN’s inclusion in this list, which was released in Fortune Magazine’s September 2016 edition, through BTPN Wow!, is a reward for the bank's success in helping people who have never previously had access to banking services in Indonesia, as well as for the important role it plays in improving financial inclusion in Indonesia. BTPN is, in fact, the only Indonesian company included in this prestigious list.
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