BRI 14040 offers quick and easy

BRI 14040 offers quick and easy
banking transactions by phone

Executives, professionals, academics and businesspeople who
are always on the move can now make banking transactions by phone
anywhere and anytime through Bank BRI, Indonesia's only bank
which has offices in almost every town across the country.

"Customers can just dial 14040 when they are in Jakarta or
021-57987400 when they are outside the capital, and staff members
at our Call Center will be ready to help them make their
transactions," said Syahreza Syahrial, the phone banking manager
of Bank BRI.

He said the phone banking facility, which goes by the name
Call BRI 14040, could be enjoyed free of charge by holders of the
bank's BritAma automated teller machine (ATM) cards.

Transactions that can be made through Call BRI 14040 include
the transfer of funds to other holders of BritAma ATM cards, and
the payment of telephone bills from state-owned
telecommunications company PT Telkom.

With this phone banking facility, BritAma cardholders can also
check their bank accounts, request information about the bank's
products and services or file complaints.

Bank BRI, Syahreza explained, is also working on the
possibility of linking its phone banking facility with other
banks already equipped with the ATM Link system, which provides
interbank electronic transactions.

Under the planned scheme, all Bank BRI's phone banking
customers will enjoy yet another facility which will allow them
to transfer funds from their account to other banks -- and vice
versa -- simply through a phone call.

Among the state banks that already have the ATM Link facility
are Bank Mandiri, Bank BNI, Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) and Bank
BRI.

BritAma cardholders, through the phone banking service,
Syahreze added, will also be able to pay credit card bills issued
by Bank BRI or other banks, pay or prepay cellular telephone
bills, pay electricity bills from PT PLN and pay water bills from
state-owned tap water companies.

"We are also preparing the use of our phone banking service
for the payment of airline and railway tickets, as well as the
payment of tuition fees at universities," he said.

The phone banking service will also be able to function as a
telemarketing facility, through which BritAma cardholders can buy
or sell various products issued by Bank BRI.

By utilizing Bank BRI's phone banking program, customers can
save time and money because they will not need to go to the bank
and stand in line.

They also will avoid the risk of being robbed on their way
home from the bank or getting in a car accident, because all they
have to do is make a telephone call from wherever they are.

The security of the phone banking system and the
confidentiality of customer data are guaranteed. And this
facility, operated with high accuracy and speed, can also help
customers make business deals at any time.

Syahreza said that in order to gain access to Bank BRI's phone
banking system, BritAma cardholders were only required to apply
-- free of charge -- for the service at their local Bank BRI
branch.

He said the bank currently had millions of customers across
the country, of which about 367,000 are BritAma ATM cardholders.
More than 250,000 are expected to apply for the phone banking
service.

"We expect that the phone banking service, which we introduced
to customers on Feb. 24, will attract more customers to apply for
BritAma cards and for the service at the same time," Syahreza
said.

According to Benny Imam Syafi'i, head of Bank BRI's marketing
department, the phone banking service was made possible by the
establishment of the on-line interconnection among Bank BRI's
branches.

"We have interconnected almost all of our branches on Java
island and the majority of our branches on the other islands in
the country," he said.

The introduction of the phone banking service, Benny went on,
was expected to improve the image of Bank BRI, which is better
known for its services in rural areas.

Assigned by the government to help finance agricultural
activities, the bank operates branches not only in towns but also
in almost all of the districts in the country. But because
farmers are generally honest and not affected by the recent
economic crisis, the bank is able to keep its bad loans at a very
low level -- a mere two percent or so of its total loans.

"With the use of high-technology for the phone banking
service, we expect to lure more customers from higher income
brackets," Benny said.

"Thus, we will have a strong foothold in both the low-income
and high-income brackets," he added.