PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BBRI) foresees a substantial increase in remittance transactions compared to previous years, driven by heightened economic activities during the Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr period of 2024.
According to Achmad Royadi, SEVP Treasury and Global Services at BRI, the anticipated rise in economic activities during Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr will automatically boost remittance activities from abroad to Indonesia. Additionally, Indonesia's cultural tradition of sharing, particularly through the distribution of Eid allowances (THR) to relatives in their hometowns, contributes to this surge.
"For this year's Ramadan and Eid Al-Fitr, BRI targets a transaction growth of 20-25% compared to normal periods," he stated on Tuesday (12/3/2024).
It is worth noting that BRI's remittance business experienced significant growth at the beginning of 2024. Remittance transactions in early 2024 grew by 20% year-on-year (yoy) compared to the same period in the previous year, accompanied by a 15% yoy increase in transaction volume.
The largest contributions came from countries where Indonesia places a significant number of migrant workers, such as Saudi Arabia, East Asian regions including Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, as well as Malaysia.
"BRI is optimistic about maintaining this good performance until the end of 2024, supported by digital innovation and customer engagement initiatives as part of the company's corporate culture in conducting business," explained Achmad.
He further elaborated that BRI, through BRIFast Remittance, caters to the banking needs of customers, including Indonesian Migrant Workers (PMI) abroad. BRIFast Remittance provides BRI's counterpart with several options for money transfer, especially for PMIs.
PMIs have the flexibility to choose various remittance mechanisms, including direct bank account transfers and cash pickup options without an account (BRIFast Cash). Additionally, to facilitate customers' needs in sending funds from Indonesia to other countries (outward remittance), BRI offers International Transfer Features through its digital banking platform BRImo and allows customers to track the status of their transactions through BRIfast Tracker.