Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Launched Indonesia’s First Floating Bank
After having opened its first branch in Singapore, Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), one of the leading commercial lenders in Indonesia, has now launched Indonesia’s first ever floating bank, named Teras BRI Kapal, in a bid to make banking services more accessible to people residing in the country’s remote islands or coastal areas. This first floating branch will serve the banking needs of residents in the Thousand Islands regency off the coast of Jakarta. In the future BRI plans to send boats to other remote areas.
BRI, a partly state-controlled bank, plans to launch one new boat each year with an expected investment of around USD $1.1 million for each floating branch. First, the bank will focus on the Thousand Islands regency but in the future Bank Rakyat Indonesia plans to cover areas including Ternate (North Maluku), Bau-bau (Southeast Sulawesi) and Tanjung Selor (North Kalimantan).
Asmawi Syam, President Director of BRI, said “The Teras BRI Kapal is an attempt to bridge the difficulties experienced by people living in remote areas, especially coastal areas, of having access to banking services”.
The boat, equipped with 11 staff members, will provide financial services related to savings, loans and money transfers. It also includes one automatic teller machine (ATM) and will operate from Monday to Friday.
Indonesian President Joko Widodo witnessed the opening ceremony of this floating bank on Tuesday (04/08) in Jakarta.