Pinjol users are mostly young. However, most of the borrowers who have difficulty paying back their loans are also young.
In recent years, online loans (Bingol) have quickly become popular among Indonesian people. Because? Apart from the simple registration process, Pinjol offers relatively fast disbursement of loan funds. Based on data from the Financial Services Authority (OJK) in 2023, loan recipients in the last two years were dominated by the younger generation of working age, namely under 35 years.
Meanwhile, at least 2.6 million loan customers are struggling to repay loan funds or facing repayment difficulties. Ironically, 57% of customers who have difficulty paying are young people under 35 years of age.
Based on this data, it is clear that the reason it is difficult for young people to repay loan funds is because of the imbalance between their financial capabilities and the amount of loan they request. This is thought to be caused by a lack of knowledge in managing loan products. The state of boredom due to arrears in payments makes many people choose the "immediate" route to avoid the obligation to pay their debts, namely default or failure to pay. In fact, this puts your financial well-being at greater risk.
The Galbe option will only increase the customer's debt burden. In addition, even if the customer uses a legitimate loan service, the customer will continue to receive bills from the lender until the debt payment is made.
Apart from the รelbei movement, another widespread phenomenon was the use of the services of the Bingรถl knights. This service is usually used by people who have problems with their credit history (credit score).
At first glance, Gentleman Pinjol seems like a savior for those with bad credit. However, using Pine Tree Jockey's services created new problems.
Bingรถl Knights usually charges a high service fee, which represents at least 10% of the total loan funds disbursed. These costs are added to the loan interest rate determined by Al-Faris, so there is a risk of customers falling into an increasingly large debt trap and being unable to pay their installments.
The Importance of Financial and Digital Culture
The phenomenon of crowding out and the use of lenders is believed to arise due to the younger generation's ignorance in planning their finances before using loan products.
The National Financial Literacy and Inclusion Survey (SNLIK) published by OJK in 2022 states that financial literacy in Indonesia is still at a low level, only 49.68%.
The low level of financial literacy of the Indonesian people makes the existence of lending services controversial. In fact, many people easily believe that fake loan information is spread on social media without checking the truth.
There is a lot of news about various threats if customers do not make loan payments. Apart from that, there are also customers who feel disadvantaged by unreasonable interest rates. However, people do not check more carefully whether the services they use are registered with the Danish Financial Supervisory Authority (OJK).
The reason is, according to the official website ojk.go.id, OJK allows legitimate peer-to-peer (P2P) lending institutions to charge fees to customers who are late in paying their installments without having to threaten violence.
If there are customers who feel threatened by their lenders, they could use illegal loan services that are not supervised by the OJK.
In terms of interest, the amount of interest offered by credit institutions or P2P lending can vary. In the event of late payment, interest or penalties may arise. Therefore, OJK always urges the public to read the contract agreement, including the amount of interest and payment penalties, before applying for a loan.
Public Education Can Be the Solution
Pinjol services can be considered as two sides of the same coin. On the one hand, this service makes it easier for unbanked people, especially the unbanked, to more easily obtain financing to meet their needs and develop their businesses.
On the other hand, the ease of getting a loan sometimes encourages people to borrow without considering their ability to pay. As a result, they may be in debt and unable to pay installments on time.
So that people can get proper benefits from loan services, fintech companies in Indonesia continue to work hard to improve people's financial skills. This is also what the P2P lending company AdaKami does.
AdaKami Brand Director, Jonathan Cress, said that apart from increasing financial literacy, his party also focuses on improving digital culture because Indonesian people are still vulnerable to misinformation in the digital sector.
“The key skill is not just smart financial management, but the ability to seek, absorb and share reliable, evidence-based information,” said Jonathan. Regarding disinformation, Jonathan said that his party received an increase in customer reports from September to October 2023. One of them was a report of an anonymous person offering a loan via WhatsApp, then asking the customer to complete the transaction without their knowledge. AdaKami Application Terms.
Apart from that, Jonathan also often receives reports of an increasing number of fake accounts called AdaKami on social media. In fact, these accounts are promoted through advertising.
"Realizing the impact of losses on customers due to a lack of vigilance in absorbing information and carrying out digital transactions, Adakami continues to urge the public to remain vigilant in absorbing information, especially before carrying out financial transactions," said Jonathan. He also explained that since the 2019 event, AdaKami has continued to carry out communication campaigns to invite people to join AdaKami and become a financially literate generation.
This activity is carried out through a series of educational activities which are actively held both online and offline.
“Among the objectives we highlight are making people understand the rules of financial products, especially P2P lending, calculating cash flow, applying for loans according to their capabilities, assimilating information before carrying out financial transactions and maintaining resistance to online gambling and online loans. ", he explained. "Loan manipulation."
Apart from educating the public, Jonathan said that his party will continue to improve official and helpful customer service at 15000-77 or hello@cs.adakami.id.