Fintech can help promote economic growth: minister

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Digital financial platforms, or financial technologies (fintech), can help boost national economic recovery and growth, according to the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto.

“The digital finance sector has very promising potential. Thus, the existence of various digital financial platforms as national players should support the acceleration of economic growth and recovery,” the minister said in a statement received here on Friday.

The government, along with the Financial Services Authority and Bank Indonesia, continue their efforts to make the digital economy and financial ecosystem more competitive, able to keep up with technological developments, and also ensure security and legal protection, including cybersecurity, he informed.

Thus, all stakeholders, including associations and digital platforms, must collaborate to improve people’s digital financial literacy, he said.

“Digital financial services also need to be more inclusive and able to reach all sections of society; in this case, the fintech industry can act as a catalyst in the digitization of business players, especially MSMEs (micro, small and medium-sized enterprises),” Hartarto added.

He said he expects the fintech industry to help achieve the national financial inclusion goal of 90% by 2024, which can be achieved through various services, such as providing online lending, payment systems and digital financial innovation.

“The government is focused on further infrastructure development, both physical and digital, ranging from optimizing fiber optic networks; building BTS towers, data centers, Satria 1 and 2 satellites; expansion of 4G networks and 5G trials; up to the (launch) of satellites in low orbit to be able to reach the entire population, including that of the (remote) area”, he informed.

Stakeholders should encourage research and innovation of fintech products, services and business models, develop digital financial regulations and policies, increase human resource capacity and improve supervision to push digital transformation in the sector, added The Minister.

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