REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA - Indonesian banks start preparing infrastructure for branchless banking, a banking system that does not need branch office to operate. The infrastructure includes a system for risk mitigation.

"Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) has prepared the infrastructure," Director of Small and Medium Entreprises of BRI, Djarot Kusumayakti, said on Thursday.

Bank Indonesia (BI) plans to issue a regulation on branchless banking at the first quarter of 2013. The regulation allows banks to offer services in several places act as bank agents. The service approaches mobile banking system for all banking transaction.

BRI has prepared security system to mitigate the risk in bank agents. The system will protect the money that people put in the bank agents.

BRI uses branchless banking to expand its networking to micro sector. This program can open wider access for people who cannot reach bank office.

Branchless banking is a part of financial inclusion program. Bank Mandiri has implemented the system to its subsidiary, Bank Sinar Harapan Bali. Customers can transact in the agents through mobile phone.

Director of Micro and Retail Banking Bank in Bank Mandiri, Budi G Sadikin, said that bank needed 300,000 agents to serve 250 million population in Indonesia. He said that building a bank office was not cheap since it needs at least a billion IDR to build a branch. "We cannot reach all people in Indonesia if it depends on branch," he said.

BI will appoint post office and rural bank such as Bank Perkreditan Rakyat (BPR) to become the bank agents. "We emphasize on the usage of mobile phone," Head of PR Bureau of BI, Difi A Johansyah, said.

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