"People must carefully choose online lenders (pinjol). Pinjol who are not registered with OJK are illegal; they should be avoided because they are not supervised by the government," Head of the OJK’s Regional Area 3, Central Java and Yogyakarta, Sumarjono said here on Saturday.
Anyone who wants to borrow money for buying Coldplay tickets should make sure that the lender is official and supervised by the OJK.
The public can check whether an online lender is genuine or not by checking their name with OJK through call center number 157 or WhatsApp number 081157157157.
"Ask about the company, type it there and it will be answered. More, if it (the loan application process) is too easy, it is probably not right," he said.
Official loan providers recognized by the government can only obtain access to borrowers' location, microphone, and camera, or what is known as the "cookies limit" by the OJK Sumarjono added.
Meanwhile, illegal lenders may obtain access to borrowers’ contacts so they can terrorize them and people close to them.
"If they are illegal, they will usually terrorize, usually cruelly, and their interest is very high. We, the OJK, cannot protect them (the victims). If they are supervised by the OJK, they will definitely comply with OJK regulations," Sumarjono said.
OJK also asked the public to check the registration of online lending companies that bring together borrowers and lenders (peer-to-peer/P2P lending).
The financial supervisor also appealed to the public to think about the amount of interest offered smartly.
Based on OJK data, there are 102 registered or licensed P2P lending companies in Indonesia as of January 2023.
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Translator: Syaiful H, Kenzu
Editor: Azis Kurmala
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