People Need Fintech Literacy To Avoid Loans And Illegal Investments

Illustration. (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Member of Commission I of the House of Representatives (DPR) Taufiq Abdullah said the public needs to be literate by technology financial companies or financial technology (fintech) so that they can stay away from online loans (pinjol) and illegal investments.

"People are tempted by the convenience of borrowing. Even though we also know that every thing must also have shortcomings or weaknesses," said Taufiq in an official statement in Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Tuesday, March 21.

Therefore, he said digital financial literacy is needed so that prospective borrowers must learn various information about fintech through various sources.

Currently, Indonesia is entering the industrial era 4.0. so that everything can be done through a digital space, including borrowing money through fintech in an easy and easy way.

Nevertheless, Taufiq said that there were at least three shortcomings in borrowing money through loans, ranging from being prone to fraud, funds were not guaranteed by the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), and loan interest rates were much higher than conventional banks.

That way, he provides safe advice using fintech services. First, prospective new borrowers check the legality of fintech companies whether the company is official or obtains legality from the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

The second suggestion is that the public must protect the confidentiality and limit access to personal data. Prospective borrowers must read and understand the terms and conditions for accessing application services to data on smartphones.

Then the third suggestion, users of this model financial services must be careful with fintech company policies. The public is obliged to read and understand the requirements and conditions requested by fintech service providers.

Fourth, download applications in official stores specifically for the Google Play application for Android and the App Store for iPhones. Fifth, you have to be aware of suspicious links and don't click on links or contact those on SMS or WhatsApp illegal loan offers.

Meanwhile, Smart Financial Academy Founder Lisa Ekuiresa said fraud under the guise of investment that promises huge profits in a short and instant time is very common in developing countries, where the level of public financial literacy is still low.

The characteristics of fraudulent investments, namely that they do not have a permit and are not registered with the OJK, do not make sense between the promised results, and are not transparent or unclear in the management of investment funds.

"There are three types that are classified as being included in fraudulent investments, namely gold investment, agribusiness, and multiplying money," said Lisa.

Therefore, he revealed that there are three important steps before the public invests, namely determining the financial goals to be achieved, determining the time period of funds needed and adjusting to financial goals, and paying attention to risk profiles as investors.