BCA Owned By Hartono Brothers Conglomerate Becomes Digital Rupiah Distributor? Voice Unlock Management

Illustration (Photo: Doc. BCA)

JAKARTA – PT Bank Central Asia Tbk (BCA) responded to the steps of Bank Indonesia (BI) which is currently selecting large national banks to become wholesalers (distributors) of digital rupiah to the retail sector.

Executive Vice President Secretariat and Corporate Communication of BCA, Hera F. Haryn, stated that the company as a banking business actor always provides support for efforts to develop the financial industry sector in the country.

"BCA as a national bank is principally committed to supporting the policies of the government, regulators, and banking authorities, one of which is related to Bank Indonesia's plan to issue digital rupiah as legal tender", she told VOI on Thursday, August 25.

According to Hera, her party will strengthen the synergy with various stakeholders regarding this plan.

"We will always coordinate and communicate with regulators and related parties, monitor and observe applicable regulations so that in the end we can provide the best service in line with BCA's vision of always understanding the various needs of customers and providing appropriate financial services to achieve optimal customer satisfaction", she said.

For information, the rupiah digital discourse is quite in line with the business focus of the bank owned by the Hartono Brothers Conglomerate, namely transaction banking. Citing the company's release, as of the first semester of 2022, the total transaction volume rose 40 percent year on year (YoY) to reach 10 billion transactions, the majority of which came from mobile banking.

Furthermore, in an earlier editorial report, BI Governor Perry Warjiyo revealed that the central bank is currently finalizing plans for the issuance of digital rupiah in the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) scheme.

He said BI plans to appoint several large banks as distributors for the retail segment. Meanwhile, the determination of the big banks is still in the selection process.

“In Indonesia, we tend to distribute digital rupiah to wholesalers. We are currently in the process of selecting the major banks that will receive this mandate. Meanwhile, the distribution itself will use the blockchain system", said Perry at the 16th Bulletin of Monetary Economics agenda forum, Thursday morning, August 25.

The event was attended by the President Director of BCA, Jahja Setiaatmadja, who took part in the photo ceremony with BI officials and other stakeholders at the peak of the event.

Meanwhile, the development of the digital rupiah in the CBDC scheme is a response to the existence of crypto assets that have the potential to create new sources of risk for economic, monetary, and financial system stability.

The majority of the world's central banks have started conducting research and experimental stages according to the characteristics of their respective countries.

In addition, industry support and input are also important inputs for the central bank in planning the CBDC design.

Various central banks are cautious and continue to study the possible impact of the CBDC, including Indonesia.

Bank Indonesia continues to study CBDC and at the end of this year is at the stage of issuing a white paper on the development of the digital rupiah.