SikatAbis KPR Comparison Service Expands Services Next Year

Buying property can be a complicated and time-consuming matter if the prospective buyer does not really understand the complex scheme of Home Ownership Credit (KPR) packages offered. This is one of the backgrounds for the presence of the SikatAbis service in 2013. Even now the focus of their services is on property, in 2017 SikatAbis plans to expand their services to KTA (Unsecured Loans) for vehicle loans, business capital, insurance, and investment.

Basically, BrushAbis is an Indonesian startup engaged in the fintech sector by providing comparison services for home and apartment loans from various banks in Indonesia. In addition to comparing the offers of Home Ownership Loans (KPR) or Apartment Ownership Loans (KPA), users can also directly apply for loans through SikatAbis. The BrushAbis service itself has been established since 2013 and is still running continuously bootstrap.

SikatAbis was born from the hands of Chris Situmorang and I Made Adi who have been friends since school at Taruna Nusantara High School, Magelang, Central Java. The two of them met again while studying in Singapore, Chris at NUS (National UniversitySingapore) and Made at NTU (Nanyang Technology University). However, what triggered the birth of the SikatAbis service was their personal experience when they wanted to buy an apartment while working in Singapore.

Chris said, “While working in Singapore […], I felt the hassle of gathering information on mortgage packages from various banks, how complex the scheme was, and how much time was spent deciding which was the 'cheapest' of the dozens of packages. Then we thought, how about we develop it into a service to help other people who also need a mortgage?”

After doing research, Chris also saw the huge potential of the Indonesian market, which has more than 250 million people compared to Singapore, which only has 6 million people. Therefore, both agreed that their main market focus is Indonesia because they believe that there will be far more people who need this service in Indonesia.

“If you compare, choose, and buy airline tickets using Traveloka, then compare, choose, and apply for credit using SikatAbis. […] It's 100 percent free for consumers. […] We always strive for savings for consumers, such as Traveloka and Tiket whose ticket prices are usually cheaper than buying directly from the airline,” said Chris.

Partners, the advantages of the services offered and plans for 2017

For approximately three years running, SikatAbis itself has succeeded in establishing strategic business partners. Currently, according to Chris, there are at least 26 bank partners who have collaborated with SikatAbis. This amount according to Chris is also more than other similar services.

When asked about his current business model, Chris only explained that his party charges banks that market their KPR/KPA products through SikatAbis just like when banks market their products to consumers through marketing channels such as advertisements on TV, magazines, or banner side of the road.

In addition to establishing partnerships with banks, SikatAbis has actually collaborated with other Indonesian startups, namely UrbanIndo. Through this collaboration, SikatAbis will add a description of the recommendation for the best mortgage package along with the installments and the total cost. However, the integration with UrbanIndo is currently inactive due to a feature update.

Regarding service excellence, Chris is optimistic that the comparison of KPR and KPA at SikatAbis is more complete and the process is faster than similar services. In addition, in addition to applying for comparisons and applying for a KPR or KPA, consumers can also reduce credit installments through the Take Over KPR feature and also apply for cash loans through Multi-Use Credit (KMG).

Chris explained, “Why is our Take Over feature important? [First] The trend of interest rates is currently declining. In order to encourage economic growth, the government since January 2016 has lowered Bank Indonesia interest rates [by] four times, from 7,5 percent to 6,5 percent, followed by interest rates for bank products such as mortgages and KPAs.”

“[Secondly] Most borrowers do not know that KPR and KPA facilities that are being repaid can be transferred to other banks with lower interest rates [sometimes called Refinancing]. […] By doing so, our client two months ago lowered the KPA interest rate from 13 percent to 8,25 percent, [saving] more than IDR 500 million,” he continued.

Although currently BrushAbis is still running bootstrap, but later in 2017 Chris revealed that SikatAbis plans to expand its services to comparison of Unsecured Loans (KTA). Its products include car loans, motorcycle loans, business capital loans, credit cards, insurance, and investments.

“In 2017, Sikatabis.com will expand services to KTA comparisons such as Car Loans, Motorcycle Loans, Business Capital Loans, Credit Cards, Insurance, and Investments. In addition to collaborating with conventional institutions such as banks, we are also open to collaboration with platform new credit or investment such as peer-to-peer lending, "said Chris.