Bank Indonesia's new rules for digital payment not expected to deter foreign investors

Industry players give their take on rules that online payment firms have minimum 15% Indonesian owners and at least 51% of shares with voting rights Indonesian owned

Published Fri, Jan 15, 2021 · 05:50 AM

Indonesia

Jakarta

FOREIGN investor interest in Indonesia's red-hot digital economy is unlikely to be impacted by the latest regulations by Bank Indonesia (BI) surrounding ownership limits in the country's online payment sector, say industry players.

Given the rapid growth of the non-bank online payments industry, Bank Indonesia last week announced new regulations to consolidate the sector, which currently has some 53 online payment brands licensed by the central bank.

Under the new regulations, online payment service providers must have a minimum of 15 per cent Indonesian owners and at least 51 per cent of shares with voting rights must be owned by Indonesian individuals or entities.

Head of the BI payment system policy department, Filianingsih Hendarta, told The Business Times that electronic money transactions have surged by nearly five times over …