Entering 2022, the COVID-19 pandemic has lasted for two years and has had an impact on changes in community activities, including in the payment system. Manual transactions are slowly being replaced by digital transactions.

In fact, Bank Indonesia (BI) considers that digitalization of the payment system can be a key factor to encourage national economic recovery. The reason is that the increasingly massive use of technology and digital payment facilities supports public transaction activities amidst the pandemic. This also has an impact on the value of digital economic and financial transactions in Indonesia which continues to increase.

As of January 2022, the value of digital banking transactions has increased to 62.82%, or IDR 4,314, trillion. Another growth also came from QRIS transactions, with an exponential increase in the nominal value of QRIS transactions reaching 290% and QRIS transaction volume reaching 326%. With that being said, Indonesia is really heading towards a more massive and inclusive digital payment ecosystem.

One of the efforts to digitalize the payment system is through open banking services. Open banking is an approach that allows banks to open data and financial information of their customers to third parties through the Open API (Application Programming Interface) system.

Open API ecosystem allows banks to be closer to consumers. Thus, consumers will find it easy to access digital banking services. BRI also provides the open banking service through BRIAPI. Its services have been proven to facilitate integration between BRI banking services and various third parties such as fintech, marketplaces, to government agencies.
 

SNAP and BI-FAST to Accelerate Digital Transaction Adoption

Open API BRIAPI is part of Indonesia's Open API ecosystem

As one of the pillars of digital banking, BI has set the outlines of open banking through the Open API standardization. These standards include technical standards, security standards, and governance standards. BI combines all of them in one standard known as the Standar Nasional Open API Pembayaran (SNAP).

SNAP is a national Open API standard set by BI for a set of protocols and instructions that function to facilitate the open interconnection of applications in processing payment transactions. With SNAP, various transaction services in Indonesia will be unified in a single system: an open banking system. This means that the application of SNAP is one step to accelerate the adoption of digital transactions for Indonesian payment system.

BRI believes that in the future, banks that can survive are those who implement technology. So, in line with SNAP implementation, BRI is ready to become an important part of the future of the payment system through BRIAPI. It will certainly encourage BRI's acceleration in digital collaboration with third parties while reducing consumer transaction costs.

In addition, to increase digital payment transactions, BI initiated the implementation of BI-FAST which is gradually replacing the Sistem Kliring Nasional Bank Indonesia (SKNBI). BI-FAST is a national retail payment system infrastructure that can facilitate retail payments in real-time and is available at any time.

With BI-FAST, interbank transfers are faster, safer, and with lower transfer fees. As of February 2022, there are 42 domestic banks that have provided BI-FAST services, including BRI. In fact, Assistant Governor of the Head of the Indonesian Payment System Policy Department, Filianingsih Hendarta, stated that transactions through BI-FAST could reach 811 million transactions by the end of this year.
 

Open API Service from BRIAPI

BRIAPI logo  

Through BRIAPI, BRI also provides convenience for digital business transactions. Businesses can complete their payment system by integrating transactional and informational APIs.

Various BRIAPI transactional products such as BRI Direct Debit, BRIVA, BRIZZI, to Transfers Between BRI Accounts and Other Banks provide easier access for consumers to conduct transactions and payments. Meanwhile, informational products such as Account Statement and Account Information make it easier to monitor business cash flow in real-time.

BRIAPI's security has also been guaranteed with ISO 27001 standard. It shows that BRIAPI outstandingly manages its information security management system, which includes clarity (clarity of operational flow), agility (fast submission process), safety (from security perspective), compliance (obedience to the applicable system), risk management, and reputation (minimizing the potential for fraud that affects the company's reputation).

As a result, throughout 2021, BRIAPI's sales volume successfully skyrocketed to 305.8% compared to the previous year, which was IDR 174.5 trillion. This triple-digit growth was achieved due to the increasing number of transactions made through BRIAPI. Until the fourth quarter of 2021, more than 226 million transactions occurred, an increase of 156.8% from the same period in the previous year.

In the same year, BRIAPI was able to reach more than 386 partner companies throughout Indonesia, both digital companies such as e-commerce, fintech, ride-hailing, API enablers, and health tech, to non-digital companies such as educational institutions and government institutions. This number is also predicted to continue to grow in the future, given the need for the digitalization of payments in various lines.

So, by using the BRIAPI open banking service, you can make banking activities faster, more practical, modern, safe, and reliable. All of these banking digitalization efforts have enabled BRI to realize its grand vision: promoting financial inclusion for Indonesian people.
 

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