Head of the BI’s West Sumatra Representative Office Endang Kurnia Saputra informed that the value of West Sumatra's electronic transactions in the fourth quarter of 2022 reached Rp933.52 billion (US$62.7 million), a growth of 16.23 percent year on year (yoy).
The value was higher than that recorded in the third quarter of 2022, which only saw a growth of 15.8 percent yoy, he said.
The volume of electronic transactions also grew by 1.36 percent compared to the previous year, reaching 9.33 million, he added.
The electronic transactions were largely supported by the distribution of electronic money through as many as 3.19 million cards, with most of the electronic money (Rp 579.19 billion or US$39 million) being used for shopping and money transfers (Rp 235.38 billion or US$15.8 million) making up the rest, he informed.
"Meanwhile, the use of electronic money for cash withdrawal was relatively little," he added.
Many factors led to the massive growth of electronic money use, such as programs launched by the government, BI, other banks, as well as the implementation of the electronification of transactions by the West Sumatra regional government, Saputra elaborated.
He highlighted that more and more merchants in West Sumatra are using QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) for transactions to support their clients with an easier payment system.
Moreover, extensive information dissemination by the central bank as well as promotions by payment services providers have also been factors that have led to the increase in the number of merchants adopting QRIS, he added.
In 2022, the number of merchants using QRIS kept increasing to reach 368,495, reflecting a growth of 59.35 percent yoy, he noted.
"However, that growth rate was relatively low compared to the third quarter of 2022, which saw 130.67 percent growth yoy," Saputra added.
Micro enterprises emerged as the largest user base of QRIS, accounting for 71.68 percent of the total user base, followed by small enterprises (22.23 percent) and the rest being medium, large, and other types of businesses, he informed.
In the fourth quarter of 2022, the number of QRIS users in West Sumatra was recorded at 432,881, an increase of 85,694, or a growth of 417.22 percent yoy, he said.
"The massive growth of QRIS users indicates the change in consumers' lifestyle, who have adopted digital payments in their daily activities," he added.
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Translator: Mario Sofia N, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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