Fama Bank Ready To Be a Digital Bank

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - PT Bank Fama Internasional will transform into a digital bank after being acquired by the Emtek Group in December 2021 and the entry of Singtel Alpha Investment and Grab Holding Limited as investors. President Director of Bank Fama International Tigor M. Siahaan said, this year his party is preparing the company to rebrand to become a digital bank in 2023.

President Director of Bank Fama International Tigor M. Siahaan said, this year his party is preparing the company to rebrand to become a digital bank in 2023.

"So far we have really carried out a transformation in terms of process, in terms of set up, in terms of tech, and of course in terms of hiring human resources (HR). So we are also really recruiting HR. We hope there are many workers who can become bridges for this digital transformation," he said during an exclusive group interview at the Revenue Tower, Jakarta, quoted on Sunday (11/12/2022).

The rebranding will be carried out starting from the transfer of Bank Fama's head office, which was previously in Bandung, West Java, to DKI Jakarta, so as to facilitate the transformation process to a digital bank.

In addition, Bank Fama will also launch its new digital-based product in the middle of next year. However, he did not divulge further about this new product in the form of a mobile banking application or other financial services.

He explained, in carrying out this rebranding, Bank Fama will utilize the digital ecosystem that has been formed among its shareholders, namely Emtek, Grab and Singtel.

This is because apart from wanting to become a digital bank, this private bank from Bandung will also target the underbanked segment in Indonesia, which has so far rarely been touched by banking services due to low digital and economic literacy.

In fact, he said, this underbanked segment has great potential to be developed, especially if this segment can be developed then the contribution to the Indonesian economy will be very large.

"The point is, how can we now provide solutions to the financial needs of players in the ecosystem, whether they are merchants, restaurants, drivers, passengers, or users of these applications, how can we provide solutions," he explained.

So with the data on MSMEs that are underbanked from shareholders, Bank Fama will assess which MSMEs can be given loan facilities to develop their business.

This is because, he said, MSME actors usually have difficulty getting loans from conventional banks because they do not have proper requirements such as financial reports to assess whether a business can be given a loan or not.

Meanwhile, with the data owned by the shareholders of Bank Fama, it can be seen how the business performance of an MSME is. For example, it can be seen from business ratings, income records, and so on.

As is well known, each of the three Bank Fama investors has expertise in their respective fields, namely the Emtek Group in online, offline and streaming media, Grab in the fields of ride hailing, food delivery, payment systems and health, and Singtel. in telecommunications and its derivatives.

"We process it in a different way from the ecosystem, with the data they have, the data that we have with the flow that we have. That way we can provide something more so that their productivity can be much greater. That's roughly the direction," he said.

This digital financial service, which is supported by a strong ecosystem and network, also has a vision to educate and empower the financial capacity of the Indonesian people.

It is hoped that with more underbanked people realizing the great potential of digital banking, Bank Fama's big mission to support people's productivity and economic growth can be realized.

This article has been published on Kompas.com with the title "Bank Fama Ready to Become a Digital Bank", click here to read. 

Author : Isna Rifka Sri Rahayu
Editor : Yoga Sukmana