Set Off to A New Start

Bank Aladin has two main ingredients for success: establish trust and offer better customer experiences.

- Sonya Angraini

Indonesia, as the world's most populous Muslim country, has significant potential to expand its sharia banking market in order to meet the needs of its approximately 87% Muslim population, as presently, only about 6% of the population uses sharia banking. The government has committed its full support to the development of sharia economies, and other industries, including beauty and cosmetics, fashion, and food, have embraced sharia principles to a large extent. Several lenders adhere to these principles in a highly regulated industry such as banking, either through a fully-fledged sharia bank or a sharia business unit.

As the country's first Islamic digital bank, PT Bank Aladin Syariah has refused to rely solely on the enormous sharia market potential. It performs the function of any service provider: it provides solutions to customers. We began with the problem, rather than simply getting together and saying, 'Let's create a bank,' explains Dyota Marsudi, President Director of PT Bank Aladin Syariah. Around 140 million people in Indonesia remain unbanked or underbanked. The first category includes those who lack bank accounts, while the second includes those who do have bank accounts but frequently rely on alternative financial products such as money orders. Around 55% of micro, small, and medium-sized businesses lack access to formal financing, indicating that there is still an untapped market, he adds. Bank Aladin is attempting to close one of the gaps caused by a lack of affordable and convenient banking services.