BI Guarantees Payment ID Does Not Spy on People's Financial Transactions, Personal Data is Secure

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia emphasized that Payment ID will not be used to infiltrate private spaces by examining individual financial transactions.

Head of the BI Payment System Policy Department, Dicky Kartikoyono, stated that Payment ID fully complies with the principle of personal data confidentiality as stipulated in the Personal Data Protection Law (UU PDP).

"The issue of Bank Indonesia wanting to spy on, wanting to know the private space of individuals, is impossible," said Dicky, as reported by ANTARA, Tuesday, August 12.

The use of Payment ID, Dicky said, is more for understanding economic potential in certain sectors, not targeting individual transaction activities. The Central Bank, he said, is solely focused on public policy, not on individuals.

"We can't 'track' who buys shoes, who buys at cafes, why would we do that? BI won't do that. We want to know the growth of the shoe industry, the growth of hotels, restaurants, and cafes, but we will never look at individual data," he said.

According to Dicky, Indonesia's economic growth requires data support, for example in the MSME sector. Many MSMEs lack access to banking because their credit histories are unknown to financial institutions.

Expanding access to financing for MSMEs requires support from the Central Bank so that financial institutions can better understand their economic potential. Financial institutions wishing to disclose MSME economic data must go through a lengthy process and obtain the active consent of the data owners.

"It must have the consent of the data owners; it can't be done haphazardly. That's the backbone of the trust business, namely the banking business. Now that the Personal Data Protection Law has been passed, privacy is strictly protected, and it can only be used with the owner's consent, which we strictly maintain," he said.

Payment ID is currently still in a trial phase. Bank Indonesia (BI) stated that Payment ID will not be launched on August 17, 2025, as has been rumored recently.

Payment ID is being prepared to assist the government, which plans to launch a non-cash social assistance program in Banyuwangi, East Java, in September 2025. Payment ID's role in distributing this social assistance is still awaiting official government regulations.

"We're still waiting to see what we can do to help by looking at the data in the financial system," said Dicky.

Payment ID is a unique nine-character identifier generated from population data based on the National Identification Number (NIK). This identity is designed to consolidate an individual's financial information, from bank accounts to digital wallet (e-wallet) accounts.

According to a BI study, Payment ID will also play a role in complementing and strengthening financial sector analysis, particularly in credit distribution, but will not replace the Financial Services Authority's (OJK) Financial Information Services System (SLIK).

Through Payment ID, every financial institution must still require active consent from the customer as the data owner if they want to understand their customer profile more accurately.