OJK urges fintech lenders to strengthen governance to maintain public trust
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has urged the peer-to-peer lending (pindar) industry to strengthen risk management and governance to maintain public trust, as confidence in the sector is often eroded by illegal online loan providers and the misuse of personal data.
Adief Razali, Head of the OJK’s Microfinance Institutions and Other Financial Services Institutions Supervision Department, stated that the core issue to be eradicated is not the licensed pindar industry, but rather the practices of illegal online lenders.
“We consider pindar as part of the solution for the community, not the problem. The problem lies in cases of illegal online loans and irresponsible misuse of personal data,” Adief said during a Journalism Workshop in Jakarta on Thursday.
Adief cautioned that a loss of public trust could hinder the sustainability of the legal pindar industry. Therefore, industry development must not only focus on business growth but also be accompanied by efforts to build public confidence.
Consequently, the authority has asked all pindar operators to strengthen their risk management and internal control systems, especially amid rapid technological advancements that pose new challenges to personal data security.
“Consumer protection and good governance are not merely regulatory obligations. They are the foundation of this industry’s sustainability. Therefore, we constantly remind the industry to strengthen its governance and risk management so that companies can grow healthily,” he stated.
On a separate note, Adief highlighted the increasing threat of cybercrime as technology evolves, including the use of artificial intelligence by fraudsters.
He said that pindar operators need to continuously enhance their digital onboarding processes, including liveness detection technology, to anticipate increasingly sophisticated fraud methods.
“The technology used by fraudsters is also developing rapidly. Pindar must adapt. We must not let deepfake technology cause us problems,” Adief said.