Investment watchdog finds 144 unlicensed fintech platforms

FINTECH - JAKARTA. Investment Alert Tax Force chairman Tongam L. Tobing has said the investment watchdog found 144 unlicensed peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms, including those operating from foreign countries such as China, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States.

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) previously said it had blocked hundreds of unlicensed P2P lending websites and applications. However, unlicensed platforms could easily be established, Tongam said in Jakarta on Sunday.

The constantly evolving nature of information technology, Indonesia's large market for online lending and the general public's poor understanding of fintech were factors that made it possible for financial technology institutions to operate illegally, he said.

“Unlicensed P2P lending platforms easily disburse loans, but they impose high interest rates, high fees and high fines,” he said.

The OJK issued OJK Regulation No. 77/2016 to try to prevent the operation of unlicensed fintech platforms, he said.

In addition to enforcing the regulation, the OJK would fight against illegal operations by blocking websites and applications, filing reports to the police and educating the public on how to identify legal P2P lending platforms, he said.

“We also regularly issue a list of both legal and illegal P2P lending platforms,” he added.

The OJK has issued licenses for 106 P2P lending platforms.