Bank Central Asia
In the last year, Bank Central Asia has given its digital ambitions a new lease of life, making it Asiamoney’s best digital bank in Indonesia in 2019. The bank has positioned itself for growth by adopting more digital technology in its operations, particularly in transaction banking.
Some of the benefits came in the form of a spike in digital transactions conducted through internet and mobile channels, as well as ATMs, which now account for 98% of BCA’s total transaction volume.
BCA, led by president director Jahja Setiaatmadja, has not relied simply on its own, internal advances to find success, it has also started to tie up with financial technology and e-commerce companies to boost operations, including promoting a cashless society.
Last year, it launched a peer-to-peer transfer feature using QR code technology. It started the OneKlik service, a payment feature in online merchants that increases the speed of payments, and launched a virtual assistant chat banking service for its customers.
That’s not all. BCA’s subsidiary Central Capital Ventura, established in 2017, invests in startup fintech companies. The investments are aimed at supporting BCA’s services. Last year, CCV made 13 investments, with its investment having increased four times versus 2017. Its total assets hit Rp205 billion ($14.4 million) in 2018.
Electronic wallets and cardless cash withdrawal services are part of BCA’s offerings to retail customers. The traction in 2018 and early 2019 was the result of plenty of hard work behind the scenes. Since 2017, for instance, the bank has been developing its digital innovation solutions unit, a sub-unit of the IT department, which focuses on technological innovations in line with customers’ expectations and wants.