Jakarta, 17 March 2025 - PT Bank Jago Tbk is promoting collaboration and digital innovation to improve sharia financial inclusion in Indonesia. This initiative is important as sharia financial products and services have yet to become the main choice compared to conventional financial products.
Agung Lesmana, Head of Sharia Financing at Bank Jago, stated that as the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, Indonesia has great potential for developing its sharia economy and finance. However, this potential remains underutilized, as reflected in the relatively low levels of sharia financial inclusion and literacy.
According to the 2024 National Financial Literacy and Inclusion Survey (SNLIK) by the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) and the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Indonesia’s sharia financial inclusion and literacy indexes are recorded at 39.11% and 12.88%, respectively. These figures are lower compared to the conventional financial inclusion and literacy indexes, which stand at 65.43% and 75.02%.
The Ministry of Finance has also emphasized that the sharia economy cannot progress without deeper development in the economic and financial sectors. Therefore, innovation, creativity, and increased liquidity in the sharia financial system are necessary.
“For this reason, sharia banks must be innovative and collaborative in expanding access to sharia finance in this digital era,” said Agung at the Islamic Entrepreneurial Marketing Festival (IEMF) 2025 at Al-Azhar University Indonesia (UAI), Jakarta, last week. He added that technology development emphasizing innovation and collaboration within a digital ecosystem can support the expansion of sharia financial access.
Therefore, Bank Jago has developed the Jago Syariah App, designed with the same level of ease and sophistication as the conventional Jago App, while still upholding sharia principles. This means customers can enjoy innovative features such as Pockets and integration with other digital ecosystems, including Gojek and GoPay as well as Bibit and Stockbit.
“The Jago Syariah App is a digital financial solution focused on everyday life, making money management easy, collaborative, and innovative. Embedded within the ecosystem, the app allows users to perform various financial transactions in one place. Just like the conventional Jago App, we designed the Jago Syariah App by prioritizing life first, and finances second,” said Agung.
Customer trust in sharia banks must also be built effectively to ensure products and services comply with regulations and sharia fatwas. According to Agung, the role of the bank’s Sharia Supervisory Board (DPS) is crucial in increasing customer trust and loyalty toward the sharia financial products and services they use.
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