Learning from Jerome Polin's Menantea Case, UMKM Actors Urged to Use Digital Payment Systems

JAKARTA, KOMPAS.com - UMKM operators are encouraged to streamline their financial recording with digital systems. This step is crucial to reduce the risk of fraud in business operations.

Chair of the Indonesian Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Industry Association (Akumandiri), Hermawati Setyorini, stated that business actors need to shift from cash transactions to digital payment systems.

“This is easier and the account is unified,” she told Kompas.com on Tuesday (14/4/2026).

Hermawati emphasised the importance of layered supervision in fund management. Bank account access should ideally require approval from more than one person.

The case of losses in the beverage business owned by creator Jerome Polin has come under the spotlight. The loss amounted to Rp 38 billion due to alleged internal management fraud.

According to Hermawati, the issue stemmed from weaknesses in internal oversight, not market conditions.

“That was also because of the owner’s own mistake; he was not thorough in checking his finances. That was an internal error, not due to the market,” she said.

“I was also shocked why Jerome Polin used Excel for his financial data like that; he should have been using something like a cash register machine, not cash,” she added.