Goodbye Pillow and Piggy Banks ...

Name: Goodbye Pillow and Piggy Banks ...
Uploaded: 2020-10-26T05:54:42Z
Duration: 20 min 32 s
Description: There are many ways to get to know financial services and products. Now, residents leave their piggy banks and pillows.

There are many ways to get to know financial services and products. Now, residents leave their piggy banks and pillows.

ABDULLAH FIKRI ASHRI/ VINA OKTAVIA

· 6 minutes read

In a modest room with wooden walls, residents of Pegagan Kidul village, Kapetakan district, Cirebon regency, West Java, were told about the advantages of a savings account, recently.

The room is located in the office of the Cakrabuana Migrant Worker Family Community (KKBM) in front of the Pegagan Kidul river, about 18 kilometers (km) north of the center of Cirebon city.

"Here, I opened a bank account and obtained an ATM card. If I have to send money to relatives, I no longer need to pay a fee […] ” Carneti (45), a local, said shyly.

Carneti worked as a migrant worker in the Middle East in 2017-2018. At that time, she used to transfer millions of rupiah via Western Union to her family in the village. She and her husband did not have a bank account.

If I needed money, I broke the piggy bank. Then, buy a piggy bank again at Kamisan Market

At that time she thought that opening a bank account would be complicated. To withdraw money, you have to go to a bank with various requirements. However, she still wanted to save her money. As a solution, she saved in a piggy bank made of clay made by pottery artisans in the village of Sitiwinangun, Jamblang, about 16 km from Pegagan Kidul.

"If I needed money, I broke the piggy bank. Then, buy a piggy bank again at Kamisan Market,” said the senior high school graduate.

Carneti has forgotten how many times she has broken her piggy banks. Her relationship with the piggy bank finally ended after Pegagan Kidul village became a pilot project for the acceleration of financial inclusion in November 2019.

Also read: Financial Inclusion Spurs Economy

The World Bank, the National Council for Inclusive Finance, and the West Java regional financial access acceleration Team are collaborating with KKBM Cakrabuana in the financial inclusion program. As the program manager, Cakrabuana KKBM manager regularly came to residents\' houses to promote the program.

Carneti and other villagers began to understand the advantages of the banking services and products such as the bank account. She was also invited to take advantage of state pawn shop PT Pegadaian’s (Persero) gold savings program.

With a minimum installment of Rp 8,000 per week, Carneti can save in gold. Sometimes she deposited Rp 10,000, Rp 20,000, even Rp. 50,000 per week. After six months, the gold investment of the small shop owner has reached 2 grams. "I want to save as much as possible. The price of the gold is on the rise, reaching more than Rp 900,000 per gram, "she said.

She obtained a supermicro loan program worth Rp 5 million to grow her business. Earnings from the shop can help the economy of her family amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Her husband works odd jobs, while her children go to high school and college which require a lot of money.

Also read: Smart People Who Seize Opportunities Will Win

Carneti makes monthly payment of Rp 252,000 for 21 months to repay her loan. For her, the installment is not burdensome, in contrast to lenders who often offer loans to villagers with and cut-throat interest charges.

Carneti is one of villagers who have enjoyed the benefits of the financial inclusion in which enables the people to access formal financial products and services.

Bintun, the coordinator of KKBM Cakrabuana, said that before the program started, only 40 percent of around 3,000 households in the area had bank accounts. "There are still many residents who put their money under the pillow because they feel safer. In fact, their children could take the money, ”said Bintun.

Now, more than 60 percent of the households in the village have already had bank accounts.

Thanks to the financial inclusion program, there are now six banking agents in the village, including the Cakrabuana KKBM which acts as the agents of the gold savings program of Pegadaian. The residents no longer need to go to bank offices or ATMs to get their money. They can just come to the agents to withdraw money, to make a transfer or to pay loan installments.

"Now, more than 60 percent of the households in the village have already had bank accounts. About 80 residents have joined the gold savings program. World Bank representatives still regularly call residents to conduct a survey, "he said. A total of 12 stores, he continued, have also accepted non-cash payments using an online application.

Esih Sunarsih, the head of the financial affairs at the Pegagan Kidul village administration said that the financial inclusion program really helped the residents especially during the current Covid-19 pandemic. Residents, for example, no longer have to congregate at bank branches near the Celancang Market. "We need only to go to an agent if you want to send money," he said.

Rp 100,000 is enough

In Sidorejo village, Sidomulyo district, South Lampung regency, Lampung, 259 residents have also become equity investors. In 2018, the village was designated as Desa Nabung Saham (equity investment village). Now, residents in the villages around Sidorejo are also investors in the Investment Gallery in that village.

"Initially, I thought it took millions of rupiah to open a stock savings account. It turns out that with Rp 100, 000, we can invest in stocks, ”said Agus Fauzi (35), a resident of Sidoharjo village, Way Panji district, South Lampung.

Agus learned about equity investment from Facebook in January 2019. He was interested in learning stocks and visited the house of Riyan Ahmad, the village initiator for equity investment in Sidorejo village. After a number of discussion and taking part in stock trading tutorials, the small business owner opened a stock savings account with an initial investment of Rp 100,000.