Digital Economy Enters More Realistic Phase, Becomes Shock Absorber and Driver of Equitable Growth
Amid macroeconomic pressures felt across various levels of society, Indonesia’s digital economy is no longer moving based on euphoria alone. The sector is now being demanded to transform into a balancing force as well as a driver of productivity that favours real needs.
This view was conveyed by Ibnu Sunanto, CEO of PT Bimasakti Multi Sinergi, in response to the latest developments in the digital economy. PT Bimasakti Multi Sinergi is a company operating in the Financial Technology (fintech) industry for electronic payment (e-payment) services in Indonesia, with B2B and B2C bases widely used by users across the country. The company was founded by Ibnu Sunanto, an entrepreneur from Yogyakarta, in 2004 under the name PT Bimasakti Multiwealth, and has successfully developed PT Bimasakti Multi Sinergi into one of Indonesia’s leading fintech companies.
Over 22 years of operating in fintech-based services, PT Bimasakti Multi Sinergi has launched various product lines and applications proven to deliver tangible benefits to the public, making a significant contribution to transforming Indonesia’s electronic payment landscape. One example is the JogjaKita application, the only local online motorcycle taxi applicator in Yogyakarta. The company holds licences from Bank Indonesia to support its products and services, as well as data and information security certifications for payment services, including Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and ISO 27001 Information Security Management System. As a concrete manifestation of its role in the domestic financial technology industry, PT Bimasakti Multi Sinergi is also a member of the Indonesian Fintech Association, ASPI (Indonesian Payment System Association), APPUI (Indonesian Money Transfer Organisers Association), idEA (Indonesian E-Commerce Association), ADEI (Indonesian Digital Entrepreneur Association), APTIKNAS (National ICT Entrepreneurs Association), and ASITA (Association of Indonesian Tours and Travel Agencies).
“Macro-economically, we are indeed under pressure. The OECD projects Indonesia’s 2026 growth at around 4.7%, with consumption and investment pressured by energy costs, borrowing costs, policy uncertainty, and labour market weakening. Consumer confidence has also declined; the consumer confidence index fell to 120.9 in May 2026, the lowest level since September 2025, although still in a fairly positive zone,” explained Ibnu Sunanto on Monday (22/6/2026) in his statement.
He assessed that past digital economy growth was largely driven by euphoria, massive promotions, subsidies, user acquisition battles, and aggressive expansion. However, the situation has now changed. “Now the market demands healthier fundamentals: profitability, efficiency, trust, recurring transactions, and solutions that truly touch people’s needs. So, in my view, Indonesia’s digital economy is not as bad as the conventional economy, but it is no longer as easy as the previous digital boom period and is entering a more realistic phase. Digital players are now required to elevate themselves from merely ‘digitising transactions’ to creating economic productivity,” he stressed.
Ibnu explained that the digital economy plays a dual role as a shock absorber and a growth driver. First, the digital industry must reduce transaction costs for the public and MSMEs, not add new levies. “If payments are easier, settlement is faster, and operational costs are lower, then small businesses can become more efficient,” he said. Second, technology must expand market access. For MSMEs, agents, small shops, and informal business actors, the need is not just for an application, but for access to transactions, payments, distribution, record-keeping, and even financing support. Third, digitalisation facilitates the distribution of aid, public services, and the payment of taxes and local levies. Fourth, business models must shift from ‘burning money’ to creating productive and recurring transactions.
As a practitioner championing the concept of a mutual cooperation (gotong royong) economy, Ibnu sees the current conditions as a natural filtering period. “The economy is testing who has a business truly rooted in society, and who was only big because of promotions or valuations,” he said. At Bimasakti, the ecosystem is built through a network of Fastpay agents, merchants, billers, the Winpay payment gateway, Speedcash e-money, regional partners, and communities. “For us, technology should not just enlarge the platform. Technology must strengthen many small economic nodes. In conditions of declining purchasing power, small players usually feel the pressure fastest, but they are also the most flexible if given the right tools,” he stated.
According to him, a mutual cooperation digital economy has three core meanings: transactions spread to regions and communities, economic value flows to the entire ecosystem chain, and technology becomes a tool for equitable distribution, not domination. “The macro economy right now is like a body lacking oxygen. So digitalisation must become a new bloodstream: accelerating transactions, opening income opportunities, and strengthening business networks,” Ibnu expressed. To survive, he suggested six key steps: discipline in managing cash flow, focus on products that solve real problems, strengthening recurring transactions, building a strong ecosystem, utilising artificial intelligence for efficiency, and daring to simplify operations and cut unproductive elements. To newcomers wanting to start a digital business, Ibnu reminded them not to fall into the trap of thinking ‘an application equals a business’. “An application is just a tool. The real business is the problem you solve, the transactions you create, the network you build, and the trust you earn.”