Improving Financial Technology Uptake in Underbanked Communities in Indonesia

Abstract

This study explains financial technology (FinTech) as technology-based financial services, which includes all types of FinTech with all its services. Generally, people are categorized into banked, underbanked, and unbanked based on their access to financial services. Indonesia happens to have the fourth-highest number of unbanked people in the world. However, Indonesian people's access to the internet and use of smartphones have increased in the last 5 years. Based on the data above, it can be concluded that Indonesia has great potential for Fintech adoption. FinTech has been proven to increase access to financial services for the unbanked in developing countries such as Kenya, but it is not the case in Indonesia. The researcher suspects that there are some factors that play a different role in the FinTech acceptance model in Indonesia compared to other countries. As part of a program to provide financial services to unbanked individuals in both developed and developing countries, Indonesia is seen as having great potential for FinTech growth. Despite this, there is currently limited research available which can explain and analyze the adoption of FinTech within the country. The research aims to explore the adoption of FinTech in the unbanked community of Indonesia using the perspective of Islamic economics. This study is a quantitative analytical type that employs path analysis method for data analysis. The respondents of this study were 304 individuals who were selected through random sampling technique. The findings reveal that there are differences in the FinTech adoption model in the unbanked community of Indonesia, which is unique in comparison to other countries. Consequently, some fintech in Indonesia have adjusted their products and services to cater to the needs of the majority of people in Indonesia, including by introducing sharia-based services.