National Strategy of for Financial Inclusion

In a bid to expand public accessibility to various financial services, the Government recently issued Presidential Regulation No. 82 of 2016 on the National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (“Regulation”).In a nutshell, this new Regulation sets out various national strategies which are to be used as guidelines by ministries, government institutions and regional governments when determining any policies designed to enhance the dissemination of financial services throughout Indonesia. [1] The 2016 Regulation is of relevance to government officials working in financial-related sectors, as well as to financial businesses and the general public.National Strategy for Financial InclusionThe National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (Strategi Nasional Keuangan Inklusif– “SNKI”) refers specifically to a special document which sets out a national vision, mission targets and various policies which relate to financial inclusion in order to boost economic growth, expedite poverty countermeasures, decrease social and economic inequalities and boost social welfare for the Indonesian population as a whole. This document can be found in the Appendix to the Regulation. [2] Financial inclusion itself refers to a state in which the entire population has proper access to affordable financial services. [3] In order to achieve this goal, the SNKI must be properly implemented and supported by the establishment of a National Board of Financial Inclusion (“Board”). The board will be specifically in charge of: [4]