Increasing financial literacy for the Indonesian people, especially MSME business players (Micro, Small, Medium Enterprises) continues to be pursued by the Government of Indonesia.
However, in business development, not a few MSMEs experience problems in terms of business capital.
And that will usually encourage them to make online loans ( ( ) through fintech companies financial technology ) .
Although fintech is not something that MSME businessmen need to be afraid of in carrying out money lending activities.
However, currently there are still many illegal fintech circulating in Indonesia.
This condition was also recognized by the OJK (Financial Services Authority) RI which regulates licensing and registration of fintech companies in the country.
OJK's Director of Regulation, Licensing and Supervision of Fintech, Tris Yulianta said that until now there are still more than 4000 illegal fintechs operating in secret.
" ) illegal Fintech are at least around 4,000
Yuliantara also explained that the number of fintechs that were licensed and registered with the OJK was quite inversely proportional.
He said that currently there are only around 102 fintech companies whose names are registered and licensed by the OJK.
Therefore, the OJK appeals to the public to be more observant in looking at fintech when they want to make loans .
The following are the characteristics of illegal fintech according to the OJK:
Features of Illegal Fintech
1. Not Registered with OJK
The first characteristic of illegal fintech is that it is not registered with the OJK.
Therefore, the OJK reminds the public to visit the OJK website first before deciding to apply for a loan through a fintech .
Yuliantara also said that the public can contact the OJK contact number to ensure the legal status of a fintech .
2. Unclear Interest
Every online loan made through a fintech must provide interest for each customer.
But usually, illegal fintech will set interest rates that are not clear.
It can even be said that the interest given is considered unreasonable and larger than fintech that are officially registered and licensed by the OJK.
3. Disseminate Customer's Personal Data
Then the next characteristic of illegal fintech is to spread customer personal data.
It is not uncommon to find reports from customers of the loan application whose data is distributed free of charge.
And it also indicates that the company that publishes customer personal data is an illegal fintech .
4. Media Used
OJK admits that the difference between legal and fintech illegal can also be known through the media used.
If the pinjol application is registered and licensed by the OJK, people can find it easily through the Google Play Store (Android).
Meanwhile, if there are fintech that attract customers by sending download links via short messages such as SMS and WhatsApp, then it is very likely that the company is illegal.
5. Company Address Not Clear
The next point that characterizes illegal fintech is an unclear company address.
Therefore, the public is expected to be able to check and recheck in advance against companies that will lend money.
If the address listed on the company information does not match the facts on the ground, then avoid using the fintech
6. Billing Procedure
In his speech, the OJK explained that the billing procedure can also be an indication to assess whether an institution is fintech legal or an illegal fintech .
applications Illegal fintech often collect debts not only from borrowers, but also from family, co-workers, to people outside of emergency contacts.
Then collectors from illegal fintech also usually give threats to sexual harassment to borrowers.
And not infrequently also if the illegal company collects before the specified time limit.
Well, those are the characteristics of illegal fintech that the OJK conveyed to be known by the public.
Hopefully this information can help you not to get entangled with illegal fintech and loans that are currently rife in Indonesia.