OJK Enhances Financial Inclusion for People with Disabilities
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Sumatra, VIVA – Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), there are 28 million people with disabilities in Indonesia or around 10 percent of the total population.
Unfortunately, only 22 percent of them have accounts with financial institutions, leaving approximately 78 percent of people with disabilities without access to financial services.
Friderica Widyasari Dewi, the Executive Head of Consumer Education, Protection, and Conduct Supervision at the Financial Services Authority (OJK), emphasized that it has driven OJK to continue educating people with disabilities to ensure they can access financial services.
Kepala Eksekutif Pengawas Perilaku Pelaku Usaha Jasa Keuangan, Edukasi, dan Pelindungan Konsumen OJK, Friderica Widyasari Dewi, saat melakukan Edukasi Keuangan Bagi Penyandang Disabilitas di Kabupaten Toba, Sumatera Utara, Jumat, 9 Agustus 2024
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"When we talk about financial literacy and inclusion, it must also be inclusive. This means reaching everyone, including all Indonesians, all citizens, and people with disabilities," Dewi said in Toba, North Sumatra, on Friday (August 9).
Dewi explained that accessing financial services is not easy for people with disabilities.
Therefore, OJK encourages all parties to work together to help people with disabilities easily access financial services.
"Accessing financial services is difficult and a luxury for people with disabilities. Even basic access to financial services, let alone credit, is challenging," she said.
Dewi further highlighted several challenges faced by people with disabilities, such as opening a savings account at a bank.
With the broad spectrum of disabilities, banks sometimes struggle to accommodate service mechanisms for people with disabilities.
"For instance, accessing the bank, and then having agreements in Braille. But the spectrum is very broad. So, this is an ongoing process of figuring out how to make things easier for them," Dewi explained.
In the insurance sector, people with disabilities are still viewed as sufferers of diseases, making insurance companies reluctant to provide coverage for them.
This is similar to the challenges banks face when asking blind customers to sign documents as they struggle with the consistency of their signature.
Through OJK Regulation No. 22 of 2023, which includes operational technical guidelines to support the disabled community, Dewi hopes that it will provide equal services for all citizens, including people with disabilities.
"We're collaborating with the Toba Regency Government, the OJK Sumatra Office, and several financial services businesses (PUJK) through the Regional Financial Access Acceleration Team (TPAKD) to conduct assessments on how they can provide credit to those eligible, including special initiatives for people with disabilities," Dewi concluded.
