Purbaya: IDR 11 Trillion Mass Account Budget Not Yet Final

Finance Minister Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa has stated that the budget for the planned mass account opening programme for the public is not yet final. The government is currently still calculating the total funding requirements for the programme.

“It has not been (set) at IDR 11 trillion. This budget has not yet been calculated,” Purbaya told reporters at the Ministry of Finance office in Jakarta on Thursday (10/9).

Previously, a projected budget requirement of IDR 11 trillion, or approximately 600 million US dollars, was presented by the Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs, Airlangga Hartarto. That figure was based on an estimated target population of approximately 200 million people.

Finance Minister Purbaya believes the number of programme recipients should not be as high as the initial projection. According to him, the programme will primarily target 17-year-olds who have just obtained their National Identity Card (KTP). Meanwhile, for citizens who already possess bank accounts, the scheme has not yet been discussed in depth by the government.

“Clearly, all these figures are still rough estimates. Later, it will be properly calculated. If there are 200 million (people), that means (around) 80 million are under 17. We will see what the population looks like; I have not seen it yet,” Purbaya explained.

Regarding the implementation timeline, the State Treasurer admitted he could not yet confirm a precise date. Although the state’s fiscal reserves are currently adequate to support the programme, Purbaya sees little possibility of this policy being implemented within the current year as the budget structure has already been finalised.

“As for this year’s budget, it is already tight; it should start next year. They also need time for preparation. There needs to be an integration of Dukcapil (Civil Registry) data with banking data and Bank Indonesia (BI) data. It takes time to tidy all of that up; it won’t be ready by tomorrow,” he added.

Currently, the government is preparing the mechanism for the mass account creation through Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) and Bank Syariah Indonesia (BSI). Purbaya explained that BSI accounts will be specifically allocated for the people of Aceh Province, while citizens in other regions will use BRI account services.

The planning of this mass account opening policy is a follow-up to the directives of President Prabowo Subianto. This step is taken to ensure every Indonesian citizen has access to a bank account, while simultaneously strengthening financial inclusion and literacy levels within the country.