Jansen Simanullang of Bank Rakyat Indonesia to discuss hindrances to digitalisation in the country

Simanullang is the electronic channels head at BRI.

Jansen Simanullang, regional IT & electronic channels head at Bank Rakyat Indonesia, started the first five years of his career as an IT officer in the bank. He then went on to manage operational services in South Jakarta and marketing commercial banking in Bali and Surabaya. In his current capacity, he is leading electronic channels operations across West Jakarta, Banten and West Borneo. 

Simanullang will be one of the panelists who will discuss the current trends and challenges in digital banking in Indonesia at the upcoming Retail Banking Forum in Jakarta. Find out more about him in this short Q&A:

What are your previous experiences and positions held that contributed to who you are as a banker today?
I have been working in Bank BRI for more than 12 years. I have been a Branch Operational Manager and then Business Manager before working in the electronic channel operations.

What are your key business philosophies?
My key business philosophy is, "You will eventually reap what you sow." With this karmic principle, I believe every well-planned, well-intentioned and well-done effort will eventually pay off.

Can you give us a glimpse of what you will talk about at the Asian Banking and Finance Retail Banking Forum?
I will be joining the panel discussion around digitalisation in Indonesia, and below are some of the points that I will raise:

• Obsolete regulations disconnected with the reality, such as the prohibition of online transportation ordering system such as Uber, Grab and GoJek
• Obosolete method of teaching where innovation is usually not taught at schools
• Violation of Good Corporate Governance Guideline, namely, Conflict of Interest, Corruption, Nepotism as in the example of Indonesian Electronic Identity Coruption
• Fear-based culture where most people behave as 'Yes Men' who prefer to protect their position instead of risking to lose it by making a breakthrough;
• Comfort zone/status quo/mindset/lack of long learning habit amongst the workforce
• Low level of education in some areas
• Uneven urban development, poor infrastructure
• Low level of welfare in some areas
• Proprietary Source Code (untransparency) that hinders further modification by people other than the owner of the source code
• Lack of visionary leaders with the political will to support innovative endeavors

The Jakarta leg of the Asian Banking and Finance Retail Banking Forum will be held on April 5 at the Ritz-Carlton Mega Kuningan, with thought leaders from Bain & Company and EY leading the charge.

If you are interested to attend, you may contact Nikki Quiniquini at [email protected] or at +65 3158 1386 ext 238.

More information about the event can be found here.

To read the coverage of the Forum held in Manila last February 15, click here.

For the Bangkok leg coverage, click here.

The 2017 Retail Banking Forum will also be held in three more key cities across the region, namely Singapore, Kuala Lumpur, and Hong Kong.