Consumer and Community Protection in the Financial Services Sector

A. Policies

With the enactment of the Act of the Republic of Indonesia (UU RI) No. 4 of 2023 concerning the Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector, the enactment has strengthened the authority of the Financial Services Authority (OJK) and Bank Indonesia in regulating and supervising consumer and community protection in the financial services sector to improve a reliable consumer protection system, enhance consumer and community empowerment, and foster awareness of financial services business actors;

Furthermore, there are also developments in the aspects of consumer and community protection in the financial services sector caused by the addition of consumer and community protection principles, expansion of financial services business actors, and digitalization of products and/or services in the financial services sector, as well as the development of an increasingly complex and dynamic financial services industry, so that it is necessary to strengthen the regulation of consumer and community protection in the financial services sector.

Act of the Republic of Indonesia (UU RI) No. 4 of 2023 concerning Development and Strengthening of the Financial Sector, which in this case states that Protection in the financial sector is organized with the aim to:

1. creating a Consumer Protection ecosystem that realizes legal certainty as well as complaint handling and dispute resolution that are effective and efficient;
2. fostering awareness among Financial Services Business Actors regarding responsible business behavior, fair treatment, providing Protection of assets, privacy, and Consumer data, also improving the quality of products and/or services of Financial Sector Business Actors;
3. enhancing Consumer awareness, capabilities, and independence regarding products and/or services of Financial Sector Business Actors and increasing Consumer empowerment.

The Financial Sector Authority is authorized to regulate in the framework of Consumer and Community Protection in the Financial Sector, namely the mechanism for handling Consumer complaints, Consumer Services in the financial sector, Market Conduct Supervision, out-of-court financial sector dispute resolution through dispute resolution bodies or institutions, and other provisions in the framework of Consumer and Community Protection in the financial sector.

B. Substance of Improvement

Improvements to strengthen consumer and community protection include :

1. a regulatory approach to the product and/or service life cycle that further optimizes protection efforts for consumers and the community, from product and/or service design to handling and resolving disputes;
2. Strengthening the principles of consumer and community protection is to oblige financial services business actors to conduct "adequate education" to increase the ability of consumers and community to choose financial services sector products and services;
3. Strengthening the implementation of the principle of openness and transparency of information through regulating the form, procedure, and exceptions of delivering summary product and service information;
4. Strengthening the principle of compliance enforcement that focuses on the actions of the Organizer (Financial Services Business Actors) to ensure compliance with the provisions of Consumer Protection based on statutory provisions in the Financial Sector;
5. Strengthening healthy competition where competition between Financial Services Business Actors in carrying out business activities is conducted with honesty, is not against the law or does not hamper business competition;
6. Strengthening support for consumers and/or communities with disabilities and the elderly, as well as enhancing the protection of consumer data and information;
7. The obligation to provide sufficient time for consumers to understand the agreement before it is signed or a pause period after signing the agreement for products and services with long-term or complex characteristics;
8. Obligation to record when product and or service offerings are made through personal means of communication by voice and/or video;
9. Affirmation of OJK's authority in conducting consumer protection including market conduct supervision as a form of implementation of articles 28 to 30 of the Act regarding the OJK;
10. Obligation to establish a consumer and community protection unit or function;
11. Obligation to submit a self-assessment report by Financial Services Business Actors to the OJK regarding the fulfillment of consumer protection provisions.
12. In the implementation of Consumer Protection, the Organizer (Financial Services Business Actors) has rights and obligations. The Organizer (Financial Services Business Actors) is obliged to apply the principles of Consumer Protection and inform and ensure that Consumers are aware of their rights and obligations. Consumer rights and obligations as intended, are as follows:
    Consumer Rights are :
    1. obtain security in using products and/or utilizing services as stipulated in the statutory provisions and/or agreements;
    2. choose products and/or services;
    3. receive products and/or services according to the promised offer and/or in accordance with statutory provisions;
    4. accessing data and/or consumer information managed by the Organizer;
    5. obtain informations about products and/or services that are clear, accurate, true, easily accessible, and not potentially misleading;
    6. have their opinions and complaints heard about the used products and/or utilized services;
    7. receive financial education;
    8. be treated or served properly;
       vobtain advocacy, protection, and efforts to handle complaints and consumer dispute resolution in accordance with the statutory provisions;
    9. obtain compensation if the product and/or service received is not in accordance with the agreement and/or the statutory provisions;
    10. to form a consumer association; and
    11. other rights regulated by the statutory provisions.

Consumer obligations are :

1. listen to the explanation of information regarding products and/or services delivered with certain marketing methods by the Organizer before purchasing the products and/or services of the Organizer;
2. read, understand, and implement correctly the agreement and/or document regarding the use of the product and/or service;
3. act in good faith in using products and/or services;
4. provide information and/or documents that are clear, accurate, true, and not misleading;
5. pay in accordance with the value or price and/or fee for the product and/or service agreed upon with the Organizer; and
6. participate in Consumer Protection efforts in resolving dispute in accordance with the statutory provisions.

If you have any questions regarding Bank Mestika’s products and services, or if you wish to provide information, suggestions, experiences, or complaints to help improve our performance, please fill out the form or contact us through one of the following options:

• Visit a Bank Mestika branch office

• Call MestikaCall at 14083

• Send an email to [email protected]