Indonesian e-wallet onboards 42 partners to ensure 'money from the Islamic economy stays in Islamic finance’

JAKARTA – State-owned e-wallet LinkAja Syariah is partnering with 42 organizations to make the app as useful as possible to serve Indonesians’ daily needs.

The partnership with national and local government institutions, Islamic organizations, Islamic banks, start-ups, religious schools associations, e-marketplaces, and zakat, waqf, infaq, and sadaqah bodies will give users a wide range of products and services they can pay for using one app.

“We want these organizations that have been actively accelerating the development of the national Islamic economy to accelerate Shariah finance and economy especially at the grassroots level,” Afdhal Aliasar, director of halal products industry at Indonesia's National Sharia Economy and Finance Committee (KNEKS) told Salaam Gateway.

Launched in April, the LinkAja Syariah e-payment and e-wallet allows users to top-up their balance directly from their bank accounts, bypassing the need for an EDC, or electronic data capture, reader. The app is developed and managed by Fintek Karya Nusantara that is licensed and supervised by Bank Indonesia, the central bank. Widjayanto Djaenuddin, head of LinkAja Sharia Group, told local press the app now has 185,000 accounts. 

“We want to make sure that money from the Islamic economy ecosystem stays in Islamic finance,” Afdhal said.

“Currently the portion is just too small,” he added.

Indonesia’s Islamic banking assets currently stand at 6.1% of total banking assets. The government’s aim is for the sector to comprise at least 15% by 2023.

The Indonesian government’s strategy to develop an integrated Islamic economy has always positioned finance at the centre even as all sectors, including halal products and Muslim-friendly travel, continue to support one another in the ecosystem.

READ ALSO: With finance at the core, Indonesia’s action plan for development of integrated Islamic economy to go to Cabinet Jan 2020

“In the long run, 2024 at the latest, we want LInkAja Syariah to become an Islamic digital bank,” said Afdhal.

The bank will have a clear focus on financing micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) that make up 99% of all businesses in the country.

“As our president mandates, the aim is to make Indonesia a global hub for the Islamic economy, and we should achieve it.”

(Reporting by Yosi Winosa; Editing by Emmy Abdul Alim [email protected])

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