The Story of a Fast Rupiah in the Middle of Tight Competition in the Indonesian Fintech Lending Industry

Trends in the use of loan services onlinegrowing rapidly, both for consumptive (personal) or business (MSME) needs. With the ease of disbursement of funds and the simple requirements offered, people across generations are increasingly interested in being able to use the platform.

One of the players who offer loan services online is Fast Rupiah. This startup started from a discussion by Yolanda Sunaryo with investors from China regarding the industry fintech which is also mushrooming there in 2018. Fast Rupiah is the result pilot project they are in Indonesia. Since its inception until now, the focus is still on cashloan or consumer loans.

Yolanda who currently serves as CEO revealed, "In 2018, there haven't been many players registered. Rupiah Fast became one of the first 20 companies to have this initiative. The market is also still very wide with high demand. Meanwhile, there are still many people who have not been reached by access to banking or financial services unbankable."

Exactly on December 19, 2019, the company managed to get a license from the OJK. Even so, the company's operations have started since March 2018. Rupiah Fast offers cash loans ranging from 400 thousand - 1 million Rupiah. If the user has a clean history, then the credit offered can reach 10 million Rupiah.

Until early 2021, loans disbursed by Rupiah Fast came from "super lender", namely investors from China. However, since May 2021, the company has started to open up opportunities for public funding. People who have more funds to invest through the Rapid Rupiah platform.

"The pandemic has had quite an impact on the company's operations. We have an ecosystem close-loop with selective lenders from China. Well, when the pandemic started in China, funding from Actioncalendar had decreased significantly. This also encourages companies to diversify. The composition is still 90% super banker and 10% public lenders' said Yolanda.

During approximately three years of operation, the company has disbursed nearly 11 trillion Rupiah to approximately 3,5 million total borrowers, 380 thousand of whom are active borrowers. His team said that the demographics of users are still concentrated on the islands of Java and Sumatra, but it is possible that it will grow along with wider market penetration.

In terms of monetization, Rupiah Fast profited from platform fees billed to the borrower. Yolanda also added that there are 2 cost components outside of the total loan that must be paid, namely interest and fees platform fees, fees for using the platform. It is called because as , the company is prohibited from doing business other than bringing together Actioncalendar and borrowers.

P2P lending consumer in Indonesia

In the market P2P lending in Indonesia, some players who also offer similar solutions include Kredifazz (affiliated Kredivo), My Assets, Smart Credit, TunaiKita, Akulaku, and much more. Alluded to the differentiation of services, Yolanda revealed that as one of the first 20 companies to get a license, Rupiah Fast already has a strong user base to support business sustainability.

In terms of funding, the company is still surviving with initial capital or bootstrapping. Related fundraising, Yolanda said that there are no plans for external fundraising in the next 1-3 years. This can change if there are discussions with existing investors. The team currently has almost 800 people with a composition of 80% of the division operation, 50% collection, another 30% customer service and phone verification.

The rise of news related to the growing MSME market has prompted several P2P lending to expand its product range into the realm of productive loans. One of them Akulaku who started targeting SME partners who sell on the platform E-commerce. However, currently Rupiah Fast is still focused on consumer loans because the market itself is still very large.

OJK routinely announces Fintech Lending providers that are registered/licensed at OJK and can be accessed on the OJK website and/or announced through OJK's official social media. Not long ago, the OJK had issued a list of 7 online loans whose licenses were canceled.

Reporting from the ojk.go.id page, as of September 8, 2021, the number of official loans is 107 organizers, consisting of 85 licensed loans and 22 OJK registered loans.

Challenges faced

Mentioned about the challenges in running a business P2P lending, Yolanda revealed that the first lies in the borrower's habits, "even those who borrow can be more fierce" he said. This has an impact on how we bill, how we can do it in an ethical manner and generate returns.

Rupiah Fast itself is currently successful in maintaining the TKB value or Return Success Rate at 100%. In addition, to minimize unethical billing complaints, the company also cooperates with 3rd party collection services and several attorneys.

Next, the issue of personal data. Even though it's still a bill, it doesn't mean it can only wait. His team also conducts coaching related to personal data. The rules relating to the protection of Personal data are scattered in several laws and regulations, resulting in a blurred understanding of the protection of Personal data. This encourages the need for specific laws and regulations so that they can accommodate all the needs that exist in the current technological era.

"Industry will continue to grow, now only 5 years. The hope is that it will last for the next 10-15 years. Likewise with the regulations that will be issued, hopefully they will not hinder, but support the industry as a whole," concluded Yolanda.