Financial Expert's Advice Before Applying for an Online Loan
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Online loans (pindar) are often used as a quick alternative for securing funds, with many people relying on them as an economic cushion to maintain consumption and cash flow.
Professional Financial Planner Rista Zwestika detailed several factors that must be considered before applying for a loan. The first is the total loan amount.
“When you borrow, what is the total amount you have to pay back? For example, if I borrow 5 million rupiah over a period of 20-90 days, roughly how much do I have to return?” she stated during the launch of the AdaKami Transparency Campaign on Thursday (13/8/2026).
Next is the loan repayment tenor, whether it is one month, two months, or three months, followed by the monthly instalment amount.
“Is the due date before payday? Or is the due date after payday? It is quite troublesome if the due date is before payday, because when the bill comes, it causes a headache,” Rista said.
She also addressed the interest rate, suggesting that the total interest should not exceed the principal amount borrowed. The final point is default. Borrowers need to pay attention to the risks if a default occurs.
“So there are many things we must consider before taking on debt. Don’t just focus on quick disbursement or wanting a large amount,” she stated.
Rista explained that debt sits at the very bottom level of the financial planning pyramid. When a person has money, the priority is to manage those funds. Once financial management is in place, an individual can prepare mitigation strategies, such as developing assets and preparing an inheritance. She stressed that total debt should not exceed 30% of income.
“So debt is in the formulation at the bottom,” Rista emphasised.
Rista revealed that according to data from the Financial Services Authority (OJK), the total number of online loan users reached 146.5 million accounts in 2026. The total outstanding loans reached Rp 105.14 trillion as of June 2026.
Regarding gender categories, the number of male borrowers is higher than female borrowers, with respective shares of 59.65% and 49.35%.
The purposes for using online loans include buying goods in instalments at 23.02%, meeting urgent needs at 21.77%, daily necessities shopping at 17.73%, and discounts and promotions at 12.13%.
“With these high figures, it turns out the default rate is also quite high. One of the reasons is ignorance about the process when applying for debt,” Rista said.
On the same occasion, Brand Manager of PT Pembiayaan Digital Indonesia (AdaKami), Jonathan Kriss, explained that education must be a focus for online loan platform providers to mitigate defaults.
“The spectrum of education cannot stop. We teach millennials, and the topics might be more advanced, but for Gen Z we go back to basics. So that is one of the efforts,” he stated.
Additionally, the company conducts risk mapping by measuring each user’s repayment capacity. According to him, AdaKami currently rejects many loan applications from users.
“So the number one issue now, for the past one and a half years, the highest complaint is that loans are rejected. So at AdaKami, we do not approve all loans,” Jonathan stated.