30 Aug 2022
New Bank Indonesia Regulation Provides Further Guidance on Payment Systems Regime

The central bank, Bank Indonesia (“BI”), has issued an implementing regulation to follow up on its recent series of regulations focused on payment systems (BI Regulation No. 22/23/PBI/2020 / “PBI 22/23”[1], BI Regulation No. 23/6/PBI/2021 / “PBI 23/6”[2] and BI Regulation No. 23/7/PBI/2021 / “PBI 23/7”[3] -- for a detailed analysis of these regulations, click here.

The new implementing regulation, Board of Governors Regulation No. 24/7/PADG/2022 (“PADG 24/7”),[4] effective 1 July 2022, provides additional guidance and clarification on the rules governing the operation of payment systems by payment service providers (“PJP”) and payment system infrastructure operators (“PIP”).

The scope of the PADG 24/7 encompasses (i) licensing of PJP and designation of PIP; (ii) the operation of payment systems; (iii) technological innovation; (iv) monitoring; and (v) the establishment of self-regulatory organizations. Given that PADG 24/7 in most respects mirrors the earlier regulations, we shall confine our analysis to a brief discussion of just two aspects of PADG 24/7:

1. Calculation of Share Ownership and Control

As mandated by PBI 23/6 and PBI 23/7, the level of share ownership and control in a PJP / PIP is calculated on the basis of direct and indirect ownership up to the ultimate shareholder level. Should there be a difference of opinion regarding control as between the PJP / PIP and BI, it is BI’s view that shall prevail. In other words, if BI believes that X is a controller of the entity, then X will be deemed to be a controller, notwithstanding that the PJP / PIP does not consider him to be a controller.

BI has issued a helpful official guidance setting out the procedures to be applied in determining ownership / control and providing examples of ownership / control calculations (click here).

2. E-money Limits

It is important to note that PADG 24/7 diverges from PBI 23/6 in the following respects:

1. the maximum limit on the value of funds that may be kept in a registered e-money account is increased from IDR 10 million under PBI 23/6 to IDR 20 million. A registered e-money account is one where the identity data of the accountholder is registered with the provider (such as in the case of GoPay, Ovo, etc.). By contrast, unregistered e-money refers to e-money cards that are available for sale and where the cardholder’s identity data is not registered with the provider, such as in the case of Flazz and BRIzzi cards.

2. PADG 24/7 establishes different monthly transaction limits for unregistered and registered e-money:

(i) a maximum of IDR 20 million in the case of unregistered e-money;

(ii) a maximum of IDR 40 million for registered e-money.

No such differentiation is provided for under PBI 23/6 -- the IDR 20 million monthly transaction limit applied to both registered and unregistered e-money.

3. ABNR Commentary

As mentioned earlier, PADG 24/7 is an implementing regulation for PBI 22/23, 23/6 and 23/7. As such, it clarifies and augments the provisions of these PBIs. It also mandates the issuance of various official guidances to explain how its provisions should be implemented in practice. However, only the guidance on the calculation of share ownership and control have been issued to date. So, a degree of uncertainty will continue to surround the practical implementation of a number of provisions of PADG 24/7 until such time as the requisite guidelines have been issued.

On a somewhat legalistic note, a number of the provisions of PADG 24/7 diverge from those of PBI 23/6, such as the limit on the amount of funds that can be kept in a registered e-money account (see Section 3 above). From the perspective of the legal hierarchy, a regulation of the BI Board of Governors is subordinate to, and thus should not diverge from, a BI regulation. While failures to adhere to the legislative hierarchy are not uncommon, they are undesirable as they make it more difficult to ascertain the law than would otherwise be the case, thus generating an unnecessary element of legal uncertainty.

By partners Mr. Ayik C. Gunadi (agunadi@abnrlaw.com) and Ms. Ammalia Putri (aputri@abnrlaw.com), and senior associate Ms. Nina Santoso (nsantoso@abnrlaw.com).

This ABNRNewsand its contents are intended solely to provide a general overview, for informational purposes, of selected recent developments in Indonesian law. They do not constitute legal advice and should not be relied upon as such. Accordingly, ABNR accepts no liability of any kind in respect of any statement, opinion, view, error, or omission that may be contained in this legal update. In all circumstances, you are strongly advised to consult a licensed Indonesian legal practitioner before taking any action that could adversely affect your rights and obligations under Indonesian law.