Domestic Credit Card System to Meet International Security Standards

Jokowi Wants Government Credit Card Independent from Visa and Mastercard (photo: CardMapr.nl - Unsplash)
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Bank Indonesia (BI) has confirmed that the security and domestic credit card services that will be launched in April 2023 will not be inferior to international principles such as Visa and Mastercard.

According to Erwin Haryono, Executive Director of the Communication Department of BI, the security system will be the main focus, in addition to transaction services that will be cheaper than international providers because of domestic settlements. Settlement is a process where the funds from the credit card transaction are transferred from the issuing bank to the acquiring bank.

Erwin stated that the preparation of the domestic credit card system has actually been carried out for a long time. As an example, BI has launched the National Payment Gateway (GPN) since 2018, but has only facilitated debit card services.

He also explained that the ability to detect fraud is a crucial element of the system, and it needs to be as sophisticated as the ones Visa and Mastercard have.

“The Visa-Mastercard settlement involves a large volume of transactions, and they have very sophisticated tools and excellent abilities to detect fraud, among others, which also need to be developed,” Erwin said in Yogyakarta on Monday, March 20, 2023.

Erwin emphasized that the discussion on the security of domestic credit cards has been going on for some time. The use of domestic credit cards must be as secure as the use of international credit cards. The hope is that at least by early April, the system will already be launched.

Without adequate security systems, he ensured that domestic credit card services would not be viable in the market. Furthermore, BI will not force banks or issuers to use the service since the scheme will be released to the market to promote healthy business competition.

“If, for example, domestic credit cards are cheaper but less secure, they will not sell well. There is competition and promotions; it’s good to have competition. Of course, it requires competition in normal business terms,” Erwin said.

The security of domestic credit card systems has previously been a concern for credit card sector players. According to Steve Marta, Executive Director of the Indonesian Credit Card Association (AKKI), the security system that needs to be strengthened is the data security of users and businesses in the sector so that it is not easily stolen by others.

This is because it is different from international credit card issuers who can peek at user data at any time.