Antara News·Indonesia·Wednesday, October 28, 2026 at 01:42 PM UTC

Fintech can be asset for Indonesian banks' Asia expansion: Danantara

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Jakarta (ANTARA) - Sovereign wealth fund Danantara said Indonesia’s domestic financial technology capabilities can become an asset for national banks to expand their businesses into Asian markets.

“Indonesia can be a gateway for Indonesian companies to grow and become regional players,” Danantara Managing Director for Global Relations and Communications Pahala Nugraha Mansury said at a panel discussion at the Danantara Technology Innovation Investment Forum (DTIIF) 2026 here on Wednesday.

He cited the development of mobile banking services and the use of the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) in cross-border transactions as examples of progress in Indonesia’s payment technology.

Mansury also shared his experience of about 15 years at state-owned Bank Mandiri, including when the bank prioritized investment in mobile banking services over expanding its automated teller machine network.

According to him, technology investment requires leadership commitment, funding support, and development of employees’ capabilities so companies can deliver competitive services.

In the context of regional competition, Mansury cited several neighboring-country banks that have expanded in Indonesia, such as Malaysia’s Maybank and CIMB, Singapore’s DBS, UOB, and OCBC, and Thailand’s Kasikornbank and Bangkok Bank.

He assessed that the presence of those banks shows cross-border business opportunities that national banks can also take advantage of by relying on technology capabilities and the large domestic market.

“Very few Indonesian banks operate overseas. We at Danantara believe this requires a push to change mindsets,” Mansury said.

However, several national banks already have international networks. According to its 2025 annual report, state-owned Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) has six overseas branch offices, including in Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, London, and New York.

Bank Mandiri also has an international network to support customers’ transactions and business activities abroad.

Mansury added that Indonesians living and working in various countries can be a potential market for developing cross-border financial services.

In payment technology, Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded 70.6 million QRIS users and 49.4 million merchants in the third quarter of 2026.

In that period, QRIS transaction volume grew 75.80 percent year-on-year, while overall digital payment volume reached 18.09 billion transactions, up 39.24 percent.

Cross-border QRIS services are also connected with six countries, which are Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, South Korea, and China.

Through August 2026, BI recorded 17.8 million QRIS transactions by foreign users in Indonesia worth Rp6.2 trillion. Meanwhile, transactions by Indonesian users in partner countries reached five million worth Rp1.85 trillion.

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