Bank Raya Bolsters Indonesia's Gig Economy With Instant Bailout Funds for BRILink's Agent Bankers

The neobank has made its Pinang Paylater tech available to BRILink agents, a nationwide network of MSME owners who act as the unofficial bankers of their villages. Agents now have faster access to more capital and can offer various repayment periods to borrowers.

SUMMARY

• Bank Raya is the newly transformed neobank under Bank BRI, the largest microfinance institution globally and Indonesia's largest MSME lender by assets.
• The neobank is on a mission to unlock the economic power of Indonesia's gig and service economy. A key component of that mission is empowering the agent banking sector with more capital for loans to solopreneurs and MSMEs.
• BRILink is the agent banking arm of BRI Group. Its business involves turning shop owners in the nation's remote and rural areas into the unofficial bankers of their villages. They have the power to manage cash in, cash out, and payment transactions on the local level. 
• Until recently, BRILink agents could only access a small amount of capital for lending, with a waiting period for approval. Now, with the help of Bank Raya's Pinang Paylater embedded app, agents can instantly access up to Rp25 million (~US$1,700) and offer borrowers multiple repayment periods of five, 15, and 30 days.
• By the end of 2022, Bank Raya aims to increase its total small loan disbursement via BRILink agents to Rp7.7 trillion (~US$525 million). 

JAKARTA, Indonesia, June 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- As Indonesia's official house of fintech and home of the gig and service economy, Bank Raya has announced that it is now offering more capital in the form of instant bailout funds to BRILink agents nationwide. The neobank is doing this via its embedded mobile app Pinang Paylater.  

BRILink is the agent banking arm of BRI Group. Its business involves turning shop owners in the nation's remote and rural areas into the unofficial bankers (agents) of their villages. It does this by arming them with Bank Raya's AI-powered suite of digital savings and lending solutions and a direct pipeline to BRI's various support pillars. If residents, gig workers, and small business owners wish to make a transaction, they can visit their local BRILink agent.

Until recently, BRILink agents could only access a small amount of capital for issuing loans, with a waiting period of up to two weeks for approval. Now, with the help of Bank Raya's Pinang Paylater embedded app, agents can instantly access up to Rp25 million (~US$1,700) and offer borrowers multiple repayment periods of five, 15, and 30 days.

According to Bank Raya CEO Kaspar Situmorang, the neobank aims to increase its total small loan disbursement via BRILink agents to Rp7.7 trillion (~US$526 million) by the end of 2022.

"There are now around 600,000 BRILink agents nationwide. But to be eligible for this particular Pinang Paylater bailout loan facility, agents will need to have what we call 'Champion' or 'Skipper' levels of seniority. So for now, this is approximately 50,000 agents," explained Kaspar.

While bailout funds for BRILink agents used to require a waiting period, with the help of artificial intelligence as the backbone of Bank Raya and its parent company, such funds are now made available to agents within two minutes.

On the borrower level, BRILink's liquidity boost has sweeping implications for millions of freelancers, solopreneurs, and MSMEs across the nation. These are business owners and companies that need working capital immediately to grow today and thrive tomorrow.

"We are optimistic that this cooperation with BRI will tangibly help BRILink agents as key players in the gig economy. Gig workers as a collective represent one of the cornerstones of economic recovery and growth in Indonesia. Our local gig workers are the embodiment of a new generation of MSMEs, whose credit distribution is carried out digitally based on data," explained Kaspar.  

He added that it is still early days for BRILink digital lending support through Bank Raya, with more to come, as Pinang Paylater only launched in October 2021.

Kaspar said, "The last position we observed for Pinang Paylater was that it had dispersed a total of Rp245 billion (~US$16.7 million) through only 6,000 BRILink accounts. The current average loan is Rp15 million (~US$1,000) with an average tenor of 23 days. With this new offering, we aim to increase the total disbursement to IDR 7.7 trillion (~US$526 million) by the end of the year."

He added, "This collaboration is a manifestation of Bank Raya's digital transformation and BRI's support of the digital ecosystem. Together, we will continue to support MSMEs in Indonesia. In the future, Bank Raya also hopes to increase collaboration with other financial technology providers. We aim to continue our role as the best digital bank by staying true to our role as Indonesia's official house of fintech and home of the gig economy."

Formerly BRI Agro (IDX: AGRO), Bank Raya is a fully digital bank serving as Indonesia's official house of fintech and home to the local gig and service economy. Bank Raya's parent company Bank BRI (OTCMKTS: BKRKY) is the largest microfinance institution globally and the nation's biggest MSME lender by assets.