How To Newly Learn Financial Literacy

After listening to financial broadcasts from Raditya Dika and discussing with his friend who took part in the financial planning class, Muhammad Zubeir, was moved to improve his financial management.

Zubeir is a Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) actor engaged in the coffee industry, starting to explore good principles in managing personal and business finances.

He is now starting to be able to separate money from personal or business needs into several posts and always set aside cold money that can be used at any time, without disturbing daily needs.

“Always leave cold money and money that can be used at any time if there is an urgent need, without disturbing money for daily needs,” he told VOI, Tuesday, July 22.

Zubair said that one of them can take advantage of digital banking features such as pocket features that can separate money by category so that income and expenditure is recorded and limits expenditure from one category to another.

“So, one category will not annex other categories. For example, for the entertainment category it will not be used for the category of daily necessities. So digital banking technology is like that, it can help to brake in expenses,” he explained.

However, he admitted that the discussion on income was still considered taboo in the Indonesian people.

“In Indonesian society, money is still very taboo, especially regarding income. The solutions are that talks, seminars, and financial literacy classes must be intensified,” he added.

He also emphasized the importance of learning how to manage and spend finances, not just focusing on how to earn money.

Zubair added that financial literacy in the digital era today is very important, because with ease of access it can spend money easily to buy goods that are not too important.

“So, financial literacy can hold us back in spending money that is not needed,” he said.

In the midst of shifting people towards the digital era, how to manage finances also undergo a significant transformation. Financial maturity is now no longer only about saving or investing, but also includes understanding financial information, awareness of risks, and the ability to use technology wisely.

In this change, technology, especially digital banking, plays an important role as community partners in building inclusive and sustainable financial maturity.

Director of Economic Digital Center of Economic and Law Studies (CELIOS) Nailul Huda, said that with today’s technology, digital banking has a big role to play in financial education so that it can expand access to services throughout the region, even to remote areas.

According to him, with the support of adequate infrastructure, digital banks can spearhead financial literacy and inclusion in 3T (lagging, leading, and outermost) areas.

“Information related to financial products can be channeled through various digital bank channels. So the cost will be more effective in using technology,” he told VOI.

However, he said that technology is not the only solution to increase financial literacy, but can also be built through a community-based approach, so that people can learn from each other’s experiences and interactions.

“By communicating, networking, people can get more in-depth information. From stakeholders, it can enter the community more easily,” he said.

However, he said that to form a community it took a long time and funds to build it.

“Except for communities that are naturally formed. Like the crypto community and so on. Digital banks are certainly quite difficult if you want to build a community, because this community is built on one common between its members. Meanwhile, users of digital banks are heterogeneous,” he said.

Banking Observer & Payment System Practitioner Arianto Muditomo said that financial maturity in today’s digital era is the ability of individuals to manage finances wisely by utilizing technology, including understanding digital financial products, the ability to distinguish financial information that is valid, as well as data-based decision-making and long-term goals.

According to him, this not only regulates budgeting or saving capabilities, but also includes the ability to understand digital risks such as data security, financial fraud, and readiness to adapt to the growing digital economy ecosystem.

He added that the most effective financial education approach is that combines community strength with the sophistication of digital applications because they have a complementary role, but the effectiveness depends on the context of the audience’s target.

Arianto explained that community-based approaches tend to be more effective in building trust, especially among people who are not yet fully digital-savvy, while application-based technology excels in real-time education content scalability and personalization.

“Synergy between the two, for example, financial applications supported by local communities or peer support often have a more sustainable educational impact,” he said.

He also highlighted the strategic role of digital banks in bridging the gap in literacy and financial inclusion in remote areas through app services that can be accessed, without requiring physical office, as well as educational features in the application.

According to him, with the support of adequate telecommunication infrastructure and collaboration with local agents or community partners, digital banks can simplify access to savings, micro credit and insurance, as well as educate the public about the practical and contextual benefits of financial services.

Arianto explained that digital bank applications can help people to make better financial decisions through features such as automatic budgeting, expenditure categories, billing reminders, and integrated financial goals.

“With user-friendly designs and instant-accessible financial insights, this app allows users to understand their consumption patterns, set financial priorities, and manage money more discipline, especially for the younger generation and digital natives,” he added.

“User-friendly gamification and UI/UX approaches have proven effective in increasing engagement and forming saving habits among the younger generation,” he added.

In addition, Arianto explained features such as daily rewards, achievement badges, and progress trackers for financial purposes making the savings process more attractive and not boring.

“Intuitive visual design and interactive narratives in the application also make the younger generation more interested and feel they have control over their finances from an early age,” he said.

Head of Marketing Communication of BCA Digital, Ruli Himawan Nugroho, emphasized that from the beginning BLU by BCA Digital had a mission to have a positive impact on society, especially in accompanying each individual in achieving financial maturity in a relevant, accessible, and as needed.

“We believe that financial maturity is not a matter of how much money is owned, but about having good control, understanding goals, and being able to make wise financial decisions according to each other’s abilities and lifestyles, but wanting to be a reliable partner or friend, not only in banking transactions but in every person’s financial journey,” Ruli told VOI, Thursday, July 24.

He said that blu comes as a mobile banking digital application from BCA Digital, a branchless bank with full digital services, which focuses on the digital sector and prioritizes a digital-first approach.

Ruli explained that his party realizes that users’ needs continue to grow and at the beginning, blu focuses on providing basic features such as savings, transfers, payments, and financial records. However, over time, blu continues to transform by expanding the digital ecosystem through the development of investment products, insurance, as well as financial literacy programs such as bluAcademy and the #Barengblu community.

“In addition, we also develop the user experience through more personal features, more intuitive UI/UX, and present a campaign that is more related to Gen Z’s daily life and millennials,” he added.

He conveyed that one of the interesting insights found was the increasing awareness of users in managing finances regularly, such as utilizing the bluSaving feature to separate savings bags, for example for emergency funds, holidays, to monthly snacks.

“From our internal data, we also see an increase in the use of financial analysis features, meaning that users are starting to be interested in monitoring their finances, not just using blu for transactions. This is a positive indicator that users are increasingly aware of the importance of managing finances,” he said.

Ruli said that blu measures the impact from a quantitative and qualitative perspective, where quantitatively, it can be seen from the growth of active users, the use of features such as bluSaving, bluGether, and participation in literacy programs such as bluAcademy and bluXperience.

Meanwhile, qualitatively, blu regularly collects feedback from users through surveys, social media, to personal testimonials.

“For example, there are bluAcademy participants who admit that they finally dare to start investing smallly after joining our class. For us, one small change like that can mean big to encourage long-term financial inclusion,” said Ruli.

To expand the educative impact, he said that BCA Digital also presents bluAccount for Teens, a special savings product for teenagers that allows them to learn to manage money independently from an early age.

He added that account opening is carried out completely digitally, simply through smartphones, and parents can still monitor and approve the process without having to go to the branch office.

Furthermore, he added that in early 2025, bluAcademy launched the Teen’s Guide into Finance (TGIF) program, a financial literacy education event for junior high and high school students throughout Indonesia which was held in a hybrid manner by presenting professional financial planners and public figures close to the younger generation.

“In the future, we will continue to organize bluAcademy and develop literacy and financial inclusion educational materials with a more relevant approach to society at large,” he said.

Ruli said that his party is committed to continuing to improve service quality, accelerate digital processes, present relevant and reliable products, and strengthen financial education to support financial literacy and inclusion in Indonesia.

“Hopefully, there will be more blu customers and Indonesians who are more comfortable and confident in transacting with blu, and make blu a reliable partner in accompanying the journey towards financial maturity,” he concluded.

The English, Chinese, Japanese, Arabic, and French versions are automatically generated by the AI. So there may still be inaccuracies in translating, please always see Indonesian as our main language.
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