Financial Inclusion Rises, but Sharia Finance Index Declines

The national financial inclusion index has increased, but the sharia financial inclusion index has actually declined. Based on the results of the 2026 National Survey of Financial Literacy and Inclusion (SNLIK) conducted by Statistics Indonesia (BPS) together with the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS), the national financial inclusion index rose from 92.74 percent in 2025 to 93.61 percent in 2026. However, the sharia financial inclusion index fell from 13.41 percent to 13.24 percent. At the same time, the conventional financial inclusion index increased from 92.61 percent to 93.53 percent.

This condition is considered to indicate a deeper problem for the sharia finance industry. Sharia economics expert from Airlangga University, Prof. Rahma Gafmi, assessed that society is indeed getting closer to formal financial services, but has not yet seen a strong enough reason to choose or expand the use of sharia products. “This decline confirms an access paradox. People who have been reached by financial services have access to banking or fintech, but choose to remain in the conventional ecosystem or are reluctant to deepen their sharia portfolio,” she told Republika on Tuesday (11/8/2026).

According to her, the sharia financial industry still faces a number of fundamental problems. One of them is that the product value proposition is considered not sufficiently different from conventional services. For a financially literate society, sharia labels and contracts alone are not enough reason to switch. They also compare the benefits, costs, convenience, and economic advantages offered. “Many people who are already financially literate feel that sharia products do not offer real competitive advantages beyond the use of religious labels or contracts,” she said. Rahma assessed that when the margin, profit-sharing, or cost schemes of sharia products are perceived as not much different from conventional products, society lacks a strong economic incentive to switch. The next problem is innovation. The sharia finance industry is still considered to often develop products that resemble conventional ones, rather than creating instruments that truly utilise the characteristics of sharia finance, such as profit-sharing schemes that are more suited to the needs of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs).