18 April 2016

TELKOMSEL AND BTPN PRESENT THE LINKED TCASH – BTPN WOW! FINANCIAL SERVICE


  • The first linked financial service between a cellular operator and a bank
  • Supports the government in its Movement to a Cashless Society and the acceleration of financial inclusion through information technology 

 

Jakarta – Telkomsel and PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk (BTPN) are working together to develop a financial service that links TCASH and BTPN Wow! and which will also be jointly marketed. The interconnectivity of these two products will make the linked TCASH – BTPN Wow! financial service even more comprehensive. This service combines the mobile money service TCASH with the BTPN Wow! savings account – a banking service that makes use of mobile phones, creating the first linked financial service in Indonesia to combine the strength of a telecommunications product and network with that of a banking product and network.

 

The linked TCASH – BTPN Wow! financial service was launched nationally on 18 April, 2016 at an official unveiling and public education event held in Ciampea village, Bogor, West Java. The partnership between the two companies will serve to extend the scope of linked financial services while making it so much easier to perform transactions and save money by means of a mobile phone, an especially useful development for those people who have previously not had access to the services of a formal financial institution, commonly known as the unbanked segment.

 

This collaboration also demonstrates Telkomsel and BTPN's real commitment to assisting the government in the National Movement to a Cashless Society (GNNT) and the acceleration of financial inclusion in Indonesia. Additionally, a broader partnership between Telkomsel and BTPN will open up public access to other financial services such as micro-loans for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), as well as insurance products through the support of Telco Big Data.

 

Through the linked TCASH – BTPN Wow! financial service, customers can enjoy a range of interconnected financial products with a variety of features. These include electronic money, mobile payments, as well as a secure savings account with monthly interest, and no administration or minimum balance  fees. And this is not all - the seamless registration feature available in this service will allow customers to obtain financial services at a low cost. Meanwhile, the seamless transfer feature makes it easy to control customer funds being held as TCASH or saved in a BTPN Wow! account. Users of TCASH - BTPN Wow! have every reason to be excited, as they will enjoy the benefits of lower costs together with a host of other remarkable features.

 

To become part of the linked TCASH – BTPN Wow! financial service, new customers as well as existing TCASH or BTPN Wow! customers can register, and then go on to perform transactions, through more than 30,000 BTPN Wow! agents across Indonesia. Customers will then be able to access a wide range of financial features by simply bringing up the USSD *800# menu of TCASH, or the *247# menu of BTPN Wow! More amazingly still, they will find the associated fees of the service to be so much lower than those of other regular mobile banking services.

 

With respect to this partnership, President Director of Telkomsel Ririek Adriansyah said, “The collaboration between Telkomsel TCASH and BTPN Wow! illustrates Telkomsel's vision of creating an integrated mobile financial service ecosystem with the aim of accelerating financial inclusion for all people in Indonesia. This can be achieved by combining electronic money services with branchless banking services, and encouraging the vast number of Telkomsel mobile telephone service users found in all corners of Indonesia to access these newly-available financial services.”

 

Meanwhile, President Director of BTPN Jerry Ng said, “This strategic collaboration with Telkomsel is consistent with BTPN's commitment to playing an important role in bringing about financial inclusion in Indonesia. We believe this partnership will lead to an increase in the number of unbanked people entering the banking system. Moreover, the partnership will also improve our services by adding a variety of features for BTPN Wow ! customers. In the future, BTPN will consistently seek out new opportunities for strategic cooperation, because we believe collaborations and partnerships expedite our vision of financial inclusion for everyone in Indonesia.”

 

Cellular telecommunications services have grown rapidly over the last few years. In fact, mobile penetration in Indonesia has reached 130% of the total population. On the other hand, there is still great potential in the banking sector given that the unbanked segment amounted to 60% of the total population in 2015. In light of this, the partnership between Telkomsel and BTPN is expected to provide support for the government in its efforts to achieve financial inclusion using a synergy of the strengths of individual institutions.

 

Telkomsel is the largest cellular operator in Indonesia with a network infrastructure that covers about 95% of Indonesia's population, or about 96% of the archipelago's regencies, as well as a strong distribution network with approximately 400 thousand outlets. In addition, Telkomsel has a Digital Financial Services (LKD) license from BI that includes the TCASH electronic financial service which is fostering the development of an ecosystem for non-cash financial transactions. The TCASH service currently boasts 6.5 million users.

 

BTPN is a bank focused on serving and empowering the lower-income segment, which is comprised of pensioners, micro, small & medium enterprise (MSME) entrepreneurs, as well as productive poor communities (mass market). As a bank that works with lower-income communities and MSME entrepreneurs, BTPN was one of only four national banks to obtain aLaku Pandai (Branchless Banking) license at the first time of asking from the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

 

On March 30, 2015, BTPN launched BTPN Wow!, a banking service which utilizes mobile phone technology and is supported by a network of agents for banking transactions. As of the end of March 2016, the number of BTPN Wow! agents stood at about 30 thousand, with a customer base of more than 410,000 people.

 

Before it was launched nationally on 18 April 2016, the linked TCASH – BTPN Wow! financial service was tested from mid-March 2016 in five cities - Lampung, Bandung, Tasikmalaya, Cirebon and Bogor. These trials showed positive results and a good response from the public. Telkomsel and BTPN remain committed to continue making improvements to the service even after the success of its national roll out.

 

One of the trials of the service was conducted in support of Nestlé's program to open up access to banking and funding for 20,000 independent smallholders who supply raw materials for the production of Nescafé coffee. This program is expected to assist farmers in better managing their income and also extends them loans to engage in productivity-enhancing cultivation. The trials also encompassed payments made by students of Islamic boarding schools in Daarut Tauhiid in Bandung. In the future, this service has the potential to be developed in 3,000 such boarding schools in Indonesia, as well as in various farming communities and other lower-middle income communities previously untouched by formal financial services.

 

Ririek concluded by saying, "We are really keen on using this breakthrough to provide financial access to the wider community, exposing them to a variety of conveniences and benefits. Telkomsel, together with BTPN, will always strive to use this product to create powerful solutions that boost economic growth and which, in turn, contribute to welfare of Indonesia as a whole."

 

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For further information please contact:

 

PT Bank BTPN Tbk
Andrie Darusman – Communications & Daya Head
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]

 

Bank BTPN in brief

PT Bank BTPN Tbk (Bank BTPN) is a foreign exchange bank and is a merger between PT Bank Tabungan Pensiunan Nasional Tbk (BTPN) and PT Bank Sumitomo Mitsui Indonesia (SMBCI) in February 2019. Bank BTPN serves various segments in the banking industry, from retail to corporate customers, including retirees, micro-, small- and medium-sized enterprises (MSME) and productive underprivileged communities; the consuming class segment; and the corporate segment. Bank BTPN provides the services through business units, such as BTPN Sinaya—a business unit for wealth management, BTPN Purna Bakti—a business serving retirees, BTPN Micro Business—a business unit serving microbusinesses, BTPN Business Banking—a business serving small- and medium-sized enterprises, Jenius—a digital banking platform serving the consuming class segment, and the corporate business unit, which serves national, multinational, and Japanese companies. Bank BTPN also has a subsidiary, namely PT Bank BTPN Syariah Tbk, which focuses on serving productive underprivileged customers. Bank BTPN also regularly provides training sessions and information for customers through the Daya Program—a sustainable and measurable empowerment program—to improve customers’ capacity so they can grow and have a chance to live better.