CIMB Niaga and Ajaib Collaborate to Integrate Banking and Investment Services

Photo: Special

JAKARTA - PT Bank CIMB Niaga Tbk (BNGA) together with Ajaib Group have entered into a strategic partnership to integrate banking and investment services in one digital ecosystem.

The collaboration is aimed at providing customers with an easier and more integrated financial and investment management experience.

Director of Consumer & Emerging Business Banking CIMB Niaga Noviady Wahyudi said that people's needs for financial services are currently growing and are no longer limited to banking and investment activities separately.

According to him, the integration of the two services is expected to provide added value as well as strengthen financial literacy and inclusion in Indonesia.

"Today is certainly a very important moment for Cimb Niaga in showing our commitment as The Wealth Bank of Choice and so it is one of our intentions through the OCTO application so that those of you who do not have OCTO, to realize the Function Goal according to the profile, risk, customer, and investment goals," he said in a press conference, Friday, August 7.

He said that this cooperation is expected to become a one-stop financial solution that complements the financial services ecosystem, including providing easy access to stock investments.

"So this is one of the instruments that we have not had so far. Now this investment access is getting closer and of course easier, for more than 3.8 million users," he explained.

In this cooperation, CIMB Niaga customers can access Ajaib investment services, including opening an Ajaib account and CIMB Niaga Customer Fund Account (RDN) through OCTO and customers who meet certain criteria also have the opportunity to obtain an appreciation program in the form of BNGA stock cashback.

In addition, customers can monitor the stock portfolio owned through Ajaib from the OCTO application so that banking and investment management activities can be carried out in one platform.

In contrast, Ajaib users can also utilize various CIMB Niaga banking services to meet daily financial needs and support investment activities. This integration also opens up opportunities for the development of more connected financial services in the future.

The collaboration with Ajaib, while expanding the choice of digital investments available at OCTO from before, has provided a number of instruments such as mutual funds, bonds including Retail SBN and secondary bonds, as well as gold transactions.

In addition, for Ajaib Prime customers, this cooperation also provides an opportunity to access wealth management services and various exclusive CIMB Preferred facilities according to customer financial needs.

Noviady explained that there were three main reasons why partnering with Ajaib was important for CIMB Niaga, namely first, the company wanted to present a more complete financial ecosystem on one platform, ranging from saving activities, transactions, loans to investments.

He added that through OCTO Mobile, more than 3 million customers are expected to gain access to various investment instruments and collaboration with Ajaib is also considered to help CIMB Niaga reach a younger investor base.

Second, CIMB Niaga wants to make its banking services as the main operating account for individual customers, so that various financial needs, ranging from payments, savings, loans, protection to investments can be carried out in one ecosystem.

Third, the partnership is expected to have a wider impact for customers and the community, namely CIMB Niaga will strive to accompany customers in achieving financial goals through a choice of investment instruments that can be adjusted to their respective risk profiles and needs.

Noviady assessed that the integration of banking and investment services can also create a more seamless customer experience and customers will not have to switch applications to carry out banking activities or manage their investment portfolios.

"The hope is that customers can start and manage a stock portfolio from just one application. And more importantly, perhaps together with regulators and also with KSEI to encourage literacy and financial inclusion so that it can accelerate the deepening of the national market," he said.

Meanwhile, Ajaib Anderson Sumarli, Co-Founder and CEO of Ajaib, said the collaboration was aimed at helping the community, especially the younger generation, build long-term investment habits.

According to Anderson, the development of the investment industry in Indonesia in recent years shows a positive outlook, namely that more people, especially Generation Z and Millennials, are beginning to realize the importance of investing to build a financial future.

However, he conveyed that the current investment industry challenge is no longer merely encouraging people to start investing, but the next challenge is to make people able to invest more intelligently and consistently.

"We want investing to be something very simple, easy to understand, and easy for anyone to do. Until finally it becomes part of everyday life, day-to-day activity, which people don't think is a new thing," he said.

He assessed that a simple investment experience can increase people's confidence to start investing, and when people feel comfortable, long-term investment habits will also be easier to form.

Anderson emphasized that investment should not stand alone, but rather be part of a more comprehensive financial experience, so that a partnership with CIMB Niaga is considered important to connect two services that previously ran separately, namely banking and investment.

"This partnership is not just connecting two services, or bringing two trusted brands in Indonesia. We are connecting two previously separate journeys, the banking journey and the investment journey. This will be a simpler experience for people, especially young people in Indonesia," he said.

According to Anderson, innovation in the financial industry does not always have to come from one company. Inter-institutional collaboration with different strengths can actually create a better experience for customers.

He assessed that the future of the financial industry is not only determined by the number of products owned by a company, but also by the ability to provide quality customer experiences.

Director of Settlement, Custodian, and Supervision at PT Kustodian Sentral Efek Indonesia (KSEI) Eqy Essiqy welcomed the collaboration between CIMB Niaga and Ajaib which connects banking and investment services to make it easier for people to access the capital market.

"KSEI supports various collaborations that can accelerate the expansion of public access to the capital market, as is done by CIMB Niaga and Ajaib Group. We hope that this collaboration can encourage more people to start investing, build sustainable investment habits, and contribute to the growth of the investor base in the Indonesian capital market," said Eqy.