OJK: Financial Literacy Efforts Must Be Made To Regions, Do Not Only In Big Cities

Photo: Doc. Antara

Chairman of the Board of Commissioners of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) Mahendra Siregar said efforts to increase financial literacy and inclusion must also be carried out to regions, not only in big cities. " “ I want to invite us out of big cities, because when I was carrying out activities in this Financial Inclusion Month, I also had time to follow it in Karang Anyar Regency in Solo and Samarinda. So it is very clear that the need for increased literacy, "said Mahendra at the closing of the 2022 Financial Expo (BIK) Month at Financial Expo (FinExpo), Jakarta, quoted from Antara, Saturday, October 29. Mahendra emphasized the importance of efforts to increase the financial literacy index to prevent people from being trapped in illegal financial service activities. Financial literacy for the people of Indonesia, he said, is very important in the midst of the high financial inclusion index. This is because public participation in financial products and services must be accompanied by an adequate level of understanding of the financial industry. "Our inclusion rate is very high, but the literacy is still low. Comparison 1:2. So from everyone who has savings or accounts or insurance, only 50 percent understand, the rest have but do not fully understand, including the risk of illegal activities, "said Mahendra. Until now, said Mahendra, Indonesia's level of financial literacy and inclusion continues to increase. This is based on the 2022 National Survey of Financial Literacy and Inclusion (SNLIK). “ Currently the challenge is how to relax after the literacy increases. Utilization to offer various access to financial products and services must be improved. Otherwise, it won't be optimal,” he said. Therefore, said Mahendra, all stakeholders must strive to increase financial literacy and inclusion to various regions outside big cities. Based on the 2022 National Survey of Financial Literacy and Inclusion (SNLIK), the Indonesian people's financial inclusion index increased to 85.10 percent compared to 76.19 percent in 2019. The financial literacy index also increased to 49.68 percent in 2022, up from 38.03 percent in 2019. The process of taking SNLIK 2022 data was carried out from July to September 2022 in 34 provinces covering 76 cities and regencies with 14,634 respondents aged between 15 and 79 years. The survey was conducted using a face-to-face interview method and was assisted by a Computer-Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) system.