He was previously division head of Digital Bank Development & Operations at Bank BRI.
BRI Agro, a subsidiary of Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Bank BRI), has appointed Kaspar Situmorang as its new CEO to lead its digital bank ambitions, it announced in a statement on Thursday.
Situmorang previously oversaw key digital programs at Bank BRI, including the group’s open banking initiative BRIAPI, in-house artificial intelligence platform BRIBrain, and digital lending mobile app «Ceria.»
Fully Digital Approach
In his new role, he will oversee BRI Agro’s transformation into a fully digital bank, which involves expanding its scope from its current agricultural remit to also cater to informal and underbanked workers across the gig economy, Bank BRI said.
«Our mandate is to become Indonesia’s official house of fintech and home of the local gig economy. This requires a fully digital approach that offers low-interest products and lightning-fast processes,» Situmorang said in the announcement.
Micro-Lending Base
BRI Agro will build on the success of «Pinang,» Indonesia’s first micro-lending mobile app, which is licensed as a digital bank by the Indonesian Financial Services Authority.
Since its launch in February 2019, it has disbursed IDR70.6 billion ($4.87 million) in loans to 18,069 borrowers as of end-2020, according to Bank BRI. At the same time, BRI Agro recorded IDR19.49 trillion ($1.34 billion) in loans in 2020 alone.
BRI Agro’s transition will immediately be focused on converting current customers and acquiring new ones for a fully digital banking experience. The bank noted the large opportunity to cater to underserved segments – 92 million unbanked Indonesians and another 47 million who are underbanked.
