New e-money regulations in Indonesia

Bank Indonesia recently announced the release of long-awaited new rules on electronic money. Since the termination of the Branchless Banking pilots in 2013, and the subsequent shift in regulatory authority to the newly formed Financial Services Authority (OJK), banks and telcos alike have been waiting for news on how they can use e-money and alternative financial services to reach the huge population of financially excluded in Indonesia. Although the new rules don’t cover the extension of bank accounts through agents, they do provide much-needed clarity and consolidation of existing e-money regulations.