OJK Requires Capital Of IDR 10 Trillion For The Establishment Of A New Digital Bank

Digital bank illustration. (Photo: By courtesy)

JAKARTA - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has set a minimum capital limit of IDR 10 trillion for businesses who want to establish a new digital bank. This rule was disclosed by the Executive Director of the Head of the Banking Research and Regulatory Department, Anung Herlianto.

However, Anung said that these provisions may still change considering that the authorities are still working on the best scheme by asking for input from various parties, such as industry players, associations, and related stakeholders.

"The picture is like that and we are still looking for the best format so that it can truly be accepted by all parties," he said in a webinar, Thursday, February 18.

Other information he presented was that if an existing bank wants to convert its business activities into a full digital business, the capital requirement set is IDR 3 trillion.

“This is included in the consolidated POJK (Financial Services Authority Regulation) regulation, where if it is a stand-alone bank, the condition must be IDR 3 trillion. For example, such as the Economic Welfare Bank (BKE) owned by Shopee, while Shopee is not a banking institution, "he said.

A different approach applies if an existing bank is then acquired by another, larger bank and then converted into a digital bank.

"This happened to Bank Royal, which was acquired by BCA and later converted into a digital bank. Because the parent company itself is a banking institution, the minimum capital requirement is only IDR 1 trillion, ”he said.

Meanwhile, Anung's other requirements included that digital banks must have at least one head office in Indonesia. Then, the bank directors must master the development of information technology, especially in the field of financial services.

"The rest, I think the rules are normative, namely having a strong mitigation capacity, contributing to the economy, and being able to play an active role in being able to participate in managing pressure like during the current pandemic," he concluded.