Universitas Gadjah Mada
Faculty of Economics and Business

The Financial Services Authority (OJK) in collaboration with Faculty of Economics and Business Universitas Gadjah Mada (FEB UGM) conducted a seminar with the topic of "Dissemination of Consumer Protection on Financial Services Sector" on Thursday (21/02). The event was held on Bulaksumur Hall Hotel University Club UGM, attended by Dean of FEB UGM Eko Suwardi M.Sc., Ph.D and those who joined the seminar including lecturers, practitioners, student, and others.

Attended as speaker, Deputy Commisioner of Education and Consumer Protection of The Financial Services Authority, Sarjito. Sarjito began his explanation with conveying the function of OJK specifically to promote and organize a system of regulations and supervisions that is integrated into the overall activities in the financial services sector like banking, capital markets, nonbank financial industries sectors such as insurance, pension, funding, and others financial institutions. On the other hand, OJK also has a role to protect consumer and public interests which stated on Indonesian Act Number 21 year 2011 about OJK.

In this global development era, especially on entering the disruptive technology era, many companies are transforming to create the innovations continuously, including companies in financial services industry. With the trend of digitalization, companies build strategy to generate and increase their value such as procuring good infrastructure for their systems and produce products or services that can fullfil the need of their customers nowadays. From this phenomenon, Sarjito asserts the urgency of monitoring the companies intensively and protecting consumer from business crime like deception, theft, and other criminal practices.

"OJK has 3 authorities, consists of administrative, investigative, and civil. If there are some violations done by companies, consumer can report to OJK, then OJK will follow up," said Sarjito.

OJK hopes that people nowadays can utilize the financial products or services carefully. There are 4 points of strategies spoken by Sarjito to be wise consumer. First, understand our needs. Second, select the products that appropriate with our capability and necessary. Third, check the loyalty of company. Last, make sure about benefit, cost, term and condition. People can make a contact with OJK through the call center 157 if violations by company are found and they aggrieved by it. OJK hopes through this kind of education, people can gain knowledge on financial literacy in order to be wise consumer.

Source: Cyrilla Wikan