Bank NTB Shariah's Mobile Banking Returns to Normal, Records Rp 18 Billion in Transactions Over Two Days
Bank NTB Syariah’s mobile banking application has returned to normal operations following its suspension after a cyber attack on 24 March 2025. The application was granted approval to resume operations on Thursday, 12 March 2026, by Bank Indonesia.
Nazaruddin, Chief Executive of Bank NTB Syariah, explained that the freeze on the application’s operating licence was lifted by BI the previous week. The sanctions previously imposed have been revoked as of January 2026.
“We had already received the K2 licence in the banking sector, which BI had revoked. Now we’ve regained that licence recently, and the sanctions were lifted two months ago,” Nazaruddin stated on Friday evening, 13 March 2026.
Nazaruddin clarified that the mobile banking operations remain in a normalisation phase. All functions within the application are continuing to be monitored following its return to normal operations.
“We’re continuing to monitor this closely. All features are being tested again. It takes time. All features in the application are still in the testing stage,” he said.
According to Nazaruddin, all features within Bank NTB Syariah’s mobile banking application are now available for customer use, including inter-bank transfers to other Himbara banks and the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) feature operated by Bank NTB.
“The licence that was revoked was for ongoing transfers. Now it’s working normally again. We’re continuing to observe this,” he said.
The former Commissioner of Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI) noted that the volume of outgoing transactions during the two days following reopening reached more than Rp 18 billion. “As of today, transaction income has surpassed Rp 10 billion. Outgoing transactions have reached Rp 8 billion,” he stated.
Nazaruddin attributed the surge in transactions through Bank NTB Syariah’s mobile banking to the application having been inactive for nearly a year. “It was probably anticipated by customers. That’s why it jumped so much,” he remarked.
Currently, Nazaruddin noted, the board of directors at Bank NTB Syariah continues to strengthen IT security measures. This monitoring process is being conducted in the bank’s old building facing Taman Sangkareang in Mataram.
“We’re monitoring it continuously in the old building. We’ve already recruited an IT team that started working immediately. We only just appointed them a week ago,” Nazaruddin said.
In the near future, Nazaruddin disclosed, Bank NTB Syariah will launch a specialised officer development programme to oversee the IT operations of its mobile banking system.
“We’ll recruit NTB staff to fill the IT development officer positions. Banks these days must be strong in IT networks,” he explained.
Nazaruddin revealed that Bank NTB Syariah’s software has been extremely vulnerable to hacker interference on several occasions. In international banking data, Indonesian banks are among the targets of hackers from around the world.
“According to national data, one Himbara bank alone experiences up to 1 million attacks per day. So current attack methods are highly sophisticated—those attempting to breach the system use robots. After that, hackers enter,” he explained.
He noted that the IT attack methods against several Himbara and regional bank software vary considerably. One regional bank in Jambi has also been breached by hackers.
“The attacks can come from customers. They can operate from an account, and there are also direct attacks to the IT defence system of bank software,” he said.
Nazaruddin assured that the cyber attack on Bank NTB Syariah’s mobile banking that occurred in March 2025 did not affect customer data. “Our customer data was not compromised, so no customers were affected,” he emphasised.