{
    "success": true,
    "data": {
        "id": 1916491,
        "msgid": "sharia-banking-called-too-slow-in-expanding-access-as-inclusion-drops-1786596736",
        "date": "2026-08-13 10:45:00",
        "title": "Sharia Banking Called Too Slow in Expanding Access as Inclusion Drops",
        "author": "Satria K Yudha",
        "source": "REPUBLIKA",
        "tags": "",
        "topic": "Banking",
        "summary": "Indonesia's sharia financial inclusion rate has fallen to 13.24 percent, despite a literacy rate of 43.07 percent, indicating a significant gap between public understanding and actual access to services. INDEF's Handi Risza argues that sharia banks are too concentrated in major cities and lack the aggressive outreach of conventional banks. He urges the industry to shift from a passive approach to actively expanding physical and digital networks to capture the already literate market.",
        "content": "<p>The decline in sharia financial inclusion to 13.24 percent indicates\nthat access to services remains a major problem, even among a public\nthat understands the principles. Handi Risza, Deputy Director of the\nCenter for Sharia Economic Development at INDEF, stated that people who\nare well-versed in sharia finance cannot easily use its products due to\nlimited networks and services. One of the main issues is that the\npresence of sharia financial services is still heavily concentrated in\nlarge cities. When people in the regions want to use sharia products,\nthe options available are far fewer than those for conventional\nservices. Therefore, sharia banking must be more aggressive and move\nfaster in its penetration. \u2018The penetration of sharia bank branch\noffices and ATMs is still very centralised in big cities,\u2019 Handi told\nRepublika on Thursday (13\/8\/2026). He noted that this situation causes\npeople who are actually interested in using sharia services to end up\nchoosing conventional banks because they are easier to find and access.\nThe access issue is becoming increasingly critical because the sharia\nfinancial literacy rate actually reached 43.07 percent, a figure far\nabove the inclusion rate. This means that knowledge of sharia finance\nhas not fully translated into the use of products and services. Handi\nassessed that the expansion of the 2026 National Survey of Financial\nLiteracy and Inclusion (SNLIK) coverage to the regions also helped\nreveal the true state of sharia financial access, which had previously\nbeen largely invisible. Communities in areas not yet reached by digital\nservices or physical sharia offices have more limited choices. On the\nother hand, conventional banking is considered more aggressive in\nproviding easy-to-use services. Digitalisation, promotions, and the\npresence of various services such as paylater, digital wallets, and\nfintech provide the public with many entry points to conventional\nfinancial services. \u2018Sharia financial penetration is not as aggressive\nas conventional finance, which is very massive, dominating, and seizing\npotential market share,\u2019 Handi said. Therefore, according to Handi, the\nsharia financial industry cannot rely solely on education. Sharia\nfinancial institutions need to improve their services while expanding\ntheir physical and digital presence so that the public can access their\nproducts more easily. \u2018The first issue is likely access, a classic\nproblem. It means that people who are well-literate have not yet\nreceived easy access to be included in sharia finance,\u2019 he said. Besides\naccess, Handi highlighted service quality. The completeness of features\nand ease of use offered by conventional financial institutions should\nserve as a benchmark for the sharia industry to improve. \u2018The second\nfactor is service. There may be services that are not yet optimal, like\nthose in conventional financial institutions, for example regarding the\ncompleteness of features,\u2019 he said. He argued that the sharia financial\nindustry needs to change its approach from simply waiting for the public\nto come to actively reaching out. Expanding networks and improving\nservice quality are crucial so that people who already understand sharia\nfinance have real access to use it. \u2018So all sharia financial\ninstitutions need to reform. This is homework that must be addressed\ngoing forward,\u2019 he stressed.<\/p>",
        "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/sharia-banking-called-too-slow-in-expanding-access-as-inclusion-drops-1786596736",
        "image": ""
    },
    "sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
    "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}