The Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Boediono, officially inaugurated the Financial Inclusion Activities Week and proclaimed the first WEDNESDAY of every month, Savings Day, on Wednesday 27th June 2012, in Jakarta. The announcement was made to nurture a culture of saving among the general public subsequent to the National Savings Movement launched previously by the President of Indonesia in February 2010. Wednesday, an abbreviation for Savings Day in Bahasa Indonesia, is expected to remind the public to save at least once per month, ideally on the first Wednesday of the month. Each Wednesday the national banking industry will organise activities to remind the public to save.

The Financial Inclusion Activities Week is organised by Bank Indonesia in conjunction with relevant ministries as well as the Association of National Commercial Banks (Perbanas) running from 27th June – 1st July 2012 at the Jakarta Convention Center (JCC). Such activities are one means by which to expand public access to financial services equally among all strata of society in order to encourage economic growth, reduce poverty and overcome income inequality in Indonesia.

The activities available at the Financial Inclusion Week include the 1st ASEAN Conference on Financial Inclusion on 27- 28 June 2012 as a forum to share experiences and exchange information among ASEAN member countries with experts on financial inclusion in the region and beyond. Other activities include the Indonesia Banking Expo (IBEX) on 27th June – 1st July 2012 at the same location, themed “The Role of Banks in establishing a Creative Industry and Financial Inclusion”. A talk show and workshops will feature at IBEX open to the general public in order to broaden understanding of financial inclusion.

Recognition will also be given at the Financial Inclusion Week to the 2012 Banking Olympic Champions of junior schools and middle schools across the archipelago. The winning schools for 2012 in the junior category are as follows:

• Gold: SD Ketabang 01 (Surabaya)
• Silver: SDN-SN Pasar Lama (Banjarmasin)
• Bronze: SD Nasima (Semarang)

While the winning middle schools are as follows:

• Gold: SMP Pertiwi (Medan)
• Silver: SMPN 3 (Makassar)
• Bronze: SMPN 01 (Surabaya)

The Banking Olympics are intended to foster interest among pupils in banking and financial education, which is in line with efforts pioneered by Bank Indonesia in collaboration with the Ministry of Education and Culture to integrate financial education into the national curriculum. This has already been successful in Semarang, Bandung, Surabaya, Medan, Makassar and Banjarmasin involving 72 schools in a pilot project.

To close the Financial Inclusion Week, Bank Indonesia will reiterate its bank customer protection program by hosting a Customer Protection Funbike on 1st July 2012. Funbike participants are expected to benefit from this customer protection campaign through acquired knowledge regarding the customer complaint mechanism when dealing with a bank and how the mediation process works when complaints levelled against a bank are not satisfactorily resolved.

Given that the success of financial inclusion also rests on coordination with relevant institutions, three Memorandums of Understanding were also signed at the opening of Financial Inclusion Week as follows:

1. Bank Indonesia with the Ministry of Education and Culture in order to provide financial and banking education to pupils at primary schools and secondary schools as well as university students;
2. Bank Indonesia with the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in order to broaden MSME access to financing; and
3. Bank Indonesia with the National Land Trust (BPN) in order to facilitate the public requirement for land documents that will expand equal access to bank financing.

Financial Inclusion is a long-term program that necessitates coordination and cooperation among various parties. Accordingly, Bank Indonesia is committed to continue developing and implementing a sustainable financial inclusion program.

In the implementation of financial inclusion, Bank Indonesia will institute policy replete with the following:

• Branchless banking to extend the range of banking services.
• Financial Education to propagate financial literacy, thereby empowering members of the general public to take advantage of financial products and services to ameliorate their standard of living.
• Start Up Credit, which includes efforts to create banking products and services congruent to the needs of budding entrepreneurs.
• Financial Identity Number (FIN), which is a unique financial number for strictly unbanked people, partially unbanked and fully banked.

Jakarta, 27 June 2012
Head of Public Relations Group

Difi A. Johansyah
Director