No bank account, no problem for remittance recipients in Indonesia

SINGAPORE — Indonesians working in Singapore can now remit money to family members who do not have bank accounts, with the launch of a new service by Singtel. 

The service, available via the Singtel Dash app, allows customers here to send money to some 4,500 cash-out points at post offices across Indonesia — an expansion of the current facility that allows money to be sent to Indonesian bank accounts.

First-time customers must register at SingCash outlets at Lucky Plaza and City Plaza. They must also provide details such as the name, date of birth and mobile number of the recipient of the money. Up to S$999 can be sent per transaction.

The recipients will receive a unique transaction number and a Pin code on their mobile phone in real time. They can then opt for their money to be transferred to their bank account or to pick up the cash from a post office operated by PT Pos.

To celebrate the launch of the service — a partnership between Singtel and Indonesian telco Telkomsel — remittance fees of S$9 per transaction will be waived until March 31.

Telkomsel chief executive officer Ririek Adriansyah said the service, launched at a festival on Sunday (March 26) celebrating 50 years of bilateral ties between Singapore and Indonesia, helps promote financial inclusion among the “unbanked segment”.

Only about 30 per cent of the Indonesian population now have bank accounts — a proportion the local government hopes to increase to 70 per cent in two years’ time, he said.

Indonesia is one of Singapore’s main “remittance corridors”, said Singtel chief executive officer of Consumer Singapore Yuen Kuan Moon, who added that about 15,000 Indonesians working and living here use Dash for foreign remittance.

About 200,000 Indonesians live and work in Singapore. Figures from the World Bank state that remittances from Singapore to Indonesia total more than US$409 million a year.

The two telcos plan to also expand mobile remittance to Telkomsel’s TCash mobile wallet in future.

Foreign domestic helper Ikha Racthoyti, who signed up for Dash at the festival, said the service will be useful for her parents, who do not have bank accounts.

“This is much easier because they can just collect (the cash) at the post office near my house ... Also, my brother does not have to wait a long time at the bank,” said the 23-year-old from West Java.

She added that with the app, she no longer needs to spend her monthly day off queueing at remittance centres.

Singtel and other mobile remittance services, such as Toast and Rebit, also offer remittance to non-bank cash-out points in the Philippines.