Indonesia's digital banking sector receives boost from new rules

Regulators push for quick consolidation but raise bar for latecomers

20210823 Bank Jago, Jenius, Bank Aladin Syariah, BCA Digital

Digital banks in Indonesia are racing to sign up customers in a society where more adults have mobile phones than bank accounts. (Screenshots from the websites of Bank Aladin Syariah, BCA Digital and Bank Jago)

ERWIDA MAULIA, Nikkei staff writer

JAKARTA -- New banking rules in Indonesia allow near-full foreign ownership of local lenders and reduce red tape for new services as regulators move to spur growth in the country's emerging digital banking industry.

But the regulations from the Financial Services Authority, or OJK, are a mixed bag of carrots and sticks as the agency also seeks to spur consolidation in a vibrant industry characterized by numerous small players in Southeast Asia's largest economy.

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