BCA Able To 'Beat' BRI's Profits, This Is The Secret

Illustration of BCA (Photo: BCA)

JAKARTA - The ability of PT Bank Central Asia Tbk. (BCA) posted a net profit of IDR 27.1 trillion throughout 2020, proving that the company has an accurate strategy to keep performing positively even in the midst of a pandemic.

Although the achievement of this money has fallen by 5 percent compared to the 2019 period which amounted to IDR 28.6 trillion, the bank with the BCA stock code has succeeded in establishing itself as the bank with the largest net profit in Indonesia.

Usually, the most successful banking service institution that makes profits is PT. Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BRI). Allegedly, the performance of this state-owned bank has plummeted due to its main business segmentation, namely Small Medium Enterprise (UKM) and Micro Small and Medium Enterprises (UMKM) being severely affected by the pandemic. It is recorded that throughout 2020 BRI was 'only' able to collect a profit of IDR 18.66 trillion.

So, what is the secret of BCA to be able to overtake BRI? The answer is the optimization of digital transaction channels. Because of the popularity of BCA in this area, bankers often refer to the BUKU IV bank as “transaction banking”.

In a pandemic condition, inevitably, the financial activities carried out by customers face-to-face will drastically decrease when compared to the previous normal situation. This then becomes a large space that can be utilized through digital transactions to support customers' daily financial activities.

Quoting the presentation of BCA's performance today, BCA President Director Jahja Setiaatmadja said all challenges in 2020 have proven the importance of banking focus and strategy in developing digital platforms.

"This, in particular, has made BCA ready to face the conditions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic", he said, Monday, February 8.

If you don't believe it, Jahja even reveals himself about his company's achievements in cyber transaction activities.

Until the close of the 2020 financial year, the number of transactions via BCA mobile and internet banking has shot up 50.7 percent annually. Last year, the bank controlled by the conglomerate Hartono brothers processed more than 30 million transactions per day on average or grew 18.3 percent from the 2019 period.

"Transaction banking, which is BCA's main line of business, has received greater attention from customers and other stakeholders", he said.

As not satisfied, BCA this year has even strengthened its steps to form a new business called BCA Digital. Based on previous VOI reports, BCA Digital is a subsidiary that specializes in working on the mobile transaction segment with the main target of millennials.

BCA Digital itself is a financial institution that was established from the acquisition of Bank Royal at the end of 2019. At that time, BCA was said to have poured fresh funds of not less than IDR 988 billion to reach this BUKU I category bank to be able to advance to BUKU II. The plan is that BCA Digital is ready to be launched in the first semester of this year.

"We learned new insights and gained valuable experience to serve our customers better", concluded Jahja.