Depok, September 1st 2023. Online loans (pinjol) became known to the Indonesian public around 2016. The emergence of digital financial institutions, especially online loans, has really helped people to get financial access more easily. At that time, loans were more often used by Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) who needed financial support for their business, without having to provide collateral.
Before becoming familiar with online loans, people were first introduced to the term financial technology (fintech), namely a type of financial service with technology as its operational basis. When referring to the Financial Services Authority (OJK), fintech is innovation in the financial services industry that utilizes the use of technology.
In Indonesia, there are several types of fintech companies ranging from crowdfunding, microfinancing, digital payment systems, peer to peer (P2P) lending and also aggregators. P2P lending is a money lending and borrowing service. In 2018, OJK announced that it had found at least 227 P2P lending startup companies that were not registered with OJK. In 2019, OJK recorded that there were 127 registered and supervised OJK loans, and 1477 illegal loans. OJK urges P2P lending or loan startups to register and obtain permits from the OJK.
Online loans, which at first appeared as a savior, have recently been more associated with negative news because many victims have become in debt. The number of loan application companies is growing rapidly in society. There are also loan applications that are illegal or do not have permission from the OJK. Coupled with this is the lack of a strong legal umbrella, which makes these loan services tend to operate in a negative direction.
Kominfo data reveals that throughout 2019-2021, OJK recorded more than 19,000 public complaints regarding illegal loans. The data was divided into 47% serious violations and the rest were classified as light/moderate violations. DKI Jakarta was the province with the highest online loans users, followed by West Java.
This phenomenon was conveyed by Karin Amelia Safitri, S.Pd., M.Si., a lecturer at the Insurance and Actuarial Administration Study Program, Vocational Education Program, Universitas Indonesia (UI) while carrying out community service activities (pengmas) in the Kepulauan Seribu Administrative District, especially in Panggang Island Village, on August 19th 2023.
The community service with the theme “Beware of Illegal Online Loans” was chaired by Karin, consisting of three lecturers and two students. The community service activities carried out in 1 day were aimed at the community in Panggang Island Village, which has a population of 2,289 people. It turns out that some of the residents on the island covering an area of 0.09 km2 are entangled in online loans, thus it is necessary to look for solutions and knowledge so that they remain alert to online loans.
They were educated that if they have been involved in illegal loans, the solution is to make a complaint to the OJK. Then, for other people who have never dealt with illegal loans, they receive education from the UI Vocational team who dissect the characteristics of illegal loans. Karin opined, “Some of the characteristics of illegal loans include very high loan interest, rough billing to loan recipients, loan payment due dates that are not in accordance with the initial agreement, not having permission at the OJK, and requesting access to personal data.”
It is hoped that the implementation of these community service activities will have a positive impact on participants, where they become more alert and intelligent in detecting and understanding the dangers of illegal lending. Suryani (45 years old), a housewife on Panggang Island, stated that the socialization regarding the dangers of illegal online loans gave her new insight. She said, “This socialization has made us more aware of suspicious loans, so that we don’t get trapped by loans that are not registered with the OJK.”
Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, Director of the UI Vocational Education Program, supports the community service program being carried out on Panggang Island. According to him, the illegal loans that are currently appearing in various advertisements can endanger people who do not have enough knowledge about the risks behind them. “I hope that the people of Panggang Island can receive as many benefits as possible from the community service program provided by UI Vocational lecturers,” said Padang.
