Brankas Shows Commitment to Accelerating Financial Inclusion for the Digital and SME Sector Through Open Banking

Safe, technology company open finance Southeast Asia's leading market leader, with market coverage in the Philippines, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam and Bangladesh, recently announced its commitment to accelerate financial inclusion by appointing veteran Husni Fuad as Country Manager for Indonesia. Founded in 2016, Brankas currently operates in six countries and has worked with more than 30 financial institutions and governments to provide access to modern financial services for underserved populations in the Southeast Asia region.

Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which number 63 million in Indonesia, are the main drivers of the economy and employment in the country. However, only 20% of them have access to banking and other digital financial services such as payments and inventory financing.

Open banking is designed to drive competition and innovation in the financial services sector, driving new digital products, better user experiences and greater user choice. Open banking enables banks to generate new revenue from “platform” business models and partner with startups and technology companies to access new consumers, share data, and collaborate on creating new digital products.

On various occasions, the Governor of Bank Indonesia Perry Warjiyo has emphasized the importance of digitizing the payment system to encourage economic recovery and the national financial industry, as stated in the launch of the national financial system, namely QRIS, SNAP and FAST as part of the 2025 Open Banking Roadmap. Digital Payment System Innovation in the G20 Presidency (14/2), he mentioned the synergy and coordination that includes electronification, transformation integration, and the digitization of MSMEs as one of the three key digital payment initiatives to support economic recovery.

Now, there are more than 20 million MSMEs connected to QRIS. Bank Indonesia targets as many as 45 million MSMEs to connect with QRIS by 2023. On the other hand, Bank Indonesia recorded the number of BI-FAST transactions has reached 87 million transactions with a value of Rp 339 trillion. A number of major banks and leading fintech players have also announced the adoption of SNAP to support the open banking ecosystem in Indonesia.

In the midst of a conducive open banking ecosystem in Indonesia, Husni aims to take the company to a higher level by developing a good work culture, strengthening its position in the open banking industry and Banking as a service (BaaS) for banking, and building an ecosystem embedded finance broader scope, so that the company can become a market leader in these areas in Indonesia.

Country Manager of Safes for Indonesia, Husni Fuad

Joining as Country Manager for Safes for Indonesia, Husni Fuad has more than 20 years of experience in technology and financial strategy, and has helped organizations adopt new technologies to reach markets and achieve rapid revenue growth. He also brings strong knowledge in the local market which is customer focused. Husni has worked in Singapore and the US, and has been in the software field for a long time fintech, core digital banking, payment platforms and e-channel.

“Joining Brankas is an opportunity for me to be part of a changing industry through the open banking ecosystem in Indonesia. With Brankas' mission to build financial inclusion and develop an ecosystem to offer better financial services to everyone, I firmly believe that this company will play a central role in helping financial institutions reach a wider audience, and help create opportunities for SMEs and digital startups to increase their services and income,” said Husni.

Together with Brankas, Husni is committed to contributing to a more efficient economy and fueling growth in accordance with regulatory and compliance standards set by regulators, as well as providing consumers with financing offers that will make it easier for them to access more profitable financial services. “We want to help companies in Indonesia understand the opportunities that open banking, BaaS and embedded finance; so that they can use it to drive wider adoption of financial products and services as Indonesians increasingly turn to digital financial channels,” he added.

Southeast Asia is still grappling with the financial exclusion of millions of people, with more than 70 percent of its permanent population using less or not connected to banking services at all, and 75 percent of SMEs not having access to conventional credit. Brankas is committed to its vision of making modern financial services available to everyone and welcomes Husni to their team to take this vision with great strides.