BRILink Agents Become a Lifeline for Villagers Checking PKH Aid

A look of curiosity was clear on Yuni’s face as she handed her Program Keluarga Harapan (PKH) card to Windy Rianto, the owner of Agen BRILink Windy in Tanjung Anom Village, Mauk District, Tangerang Regency, Banten. Deftly, Windy inserted the card into the Electronic Data Capture (EDC) machine to check whether the social assistance Yuni was waiting for had been credited to her account. A few seconds later, the result appeared on the screen. The PKH assistance for the April to June period was not yet available. “Not yet, perhaps not today,” Windy said, showing the result to Yuni in mid-June.

For Yuni, this has become a routine. Since 2024, she has always come to Agen BRILink Windy to check if her PKH aid has been disbursed. Her curiosity drives her to check directly rather than wait for information from others. “I’m used to checking at BRILink. That’s why I’m curious whether the PKH aid has been disbursed or not,” she said. According to Yuni, the checking process at a BRILink Agent is much easier and more practical. She does not need to travel far to a bank or try to conduct transactions herself via an ATM, which she does not fully understand. The PKH funds she receives amount to Rp375,000 every three months, which helps support her child’s education. “This government assistance is very helpful for my child’s schooling, who is still in junior secondary school,” she said.

In Tanjung Anom Village, BRILink Agents are not just places to withdraw cash. Windy said that the disbursement of social assistance like PKH has been a routine activity at his shop since he became a BRILink Agent and acquired an EDC machine. “Residents often disburse PKH here. It’s been like this for a long time, since I got the EDC machine,” the 38-year-old said. When the aid disbursement period arrives, the number of residents coming increases sharply. Around 150 residents from the Tanjung Anom area visit his agency to check and disburse government aid. Besides PKH, residents also disburse Non-Cash Food Assistance (BPNT) worth Rp600,000, distributed every three months.

However, not all aid arrives on schedule. If the funds have not been disbursed within about two weeks, Windy usually advises residents to contact their local social facilitator. “If it’s been about two weeks and it hasn’t been disbursed, I usually ask them to check with the facilitator first. The facilitator at the sub-district level is responsible for helping to check the cause,” he explained. Windy noted that most residents who come do not understand how to use an ATM or mobile banking. Many even encounter problems when trying to transact on their own. “Many don’t understand ATM or mobile banking transactions. Mostly middle-aged women. Some have even had their cards swallowed by the ATM machine,” Windy said.

Because of this, BRILink Agents are seen as a closer and more accessible solution. Windy said the administration fee charged is around Rp5,000 for transactions up to Rp2 million and Rp10,000 for amounts above that. “The admin fee is at most Rp5,000. That’s our service charge. The important thing is that the community is served and the location is close,” Windy said. The business, which has now become a lifeline for many residents, started as a mobile phone credit kiosk that Windy has run since graduating from school in 2006. Initially, he only served credit sales, then expanded to processing transfers via BRImo. Many customers came carrying ATM cards hoping to make cash withdrawals, which led to the suggestion that he open a BRILink Agent. “Many suggested, why not just set up a BRILink,” he recalled.

Seeing the growing community need, Windy invested around Rp10 million to expand his business. In January 2024, he applied to become a BRILink Agent. The application was processed through the BRI Cimone office in Tangerang in early February 2024, and he only received the EDC machine in May of the same year. “I finally went there, and in early February 2024 it was processed immediately,” he said. According to Windy, before the BRILink Agent existed, many residents complained about the ATM location being quite far from the settlement. In Tanjung Anom Village itself, the number of ATMs is very limited, so residents had to go to the Mauk area to transact. Windy admitted his shop’s turnover increased by about 20% compared to before he became a BRILink agent. Many residents come for cash withdrawals, transfers, and various other banking transactions. In a month, the transaction value circulating in his shop reaches around Rp50 million. “But the money is also for the turnover of this business,” he said.

According to him, BRILink Agents still play an important role in the village. Amid the development of digital services, many people still need assistance when conducting financial transactions. Windy admitted he once suffered a loss shortly after receiving the EDC machine in 2024. While processing a transfer transaction via the DANA app worth Rp2 million for a resident, the EDC machine indicated the transaction had failed. Thinking the funds had not been sent, he reprocessed the transaction until its status was successful. A few weeks later, when checking his BRImo account statement, he found the transaction had actually been processed. “My Rp2 million vanished,” Windy recalled. He contacted the customer who made the transaction but found no resolution, so he chose to accept the loss. “I just took this as a lesson,” he said. Since then, Windy has always checked his account statement via BRImo whenever a transaction is declared failed on the EDC machine before reprocessing it. The experience made him more cautious in running his business.