Internet banking not popular in Indonesia

Transaction complexity is holding back the growth of Internet banking in Indonesia.

A survey conducted by international market survey firm AC Nielsen revealed that only 7% of Indonesia’s Internet users admitted to using the Internet for banking transactions.

Many bank customers, despite registering with their bank’s Internet banking services, did not use the service due to complicated processes and security concerns.

The survey, however, showed that 49% of bank customers said they were interested in using Internet banking. The highest number of this group is concentrated in Surabaya, East Java.

The survey, however, also noted that the proportion of those wary of Internet banking was also quite high among bank customers.

Some 32% of bank customers in Jakarta were reluctant to use Internet banking for negative reasons such as complicated menus (54%), complicated registration (22%) and less security (10%).

Internet banking mostly offered the ability to carry out basic tasks such as checking account balances; making individual bill payments to another account and transferring funds between accounts.

State-owned Bank Mandiri, the largest Indonesian bank in terms of assets, offered Internet beginning 2001. It recorded 1.3 million Internet banking users as of April 2012, up 43% from the same period last year.

“We saw a big opportunity in Internet banking, but not all of our customers are Internet savvy. Therefore, we are boosting our promotion by offering cash back for people who complete transactions via the Internet,” said Bank Mandiri senior vice president Rico Ustavia.