Indonesia halts permit for new fintech lending companies

President Joko Widodo ordered a moratorium on licence issuance for fintech lending as the country seeks to eradicate the rampant illegal businesses that have trapped many people and small firms with high-interest loans.

The government will also work with the police to take firm action against current illegal online lending practices

Jokowi, as the president is known, asked regulators to improve the governance of the fintech lending business, which has extended 260 trillion rupiah (US$18.5bil or RM77bil) of loans to more than 68 million people. There are 107 fintech lending companies registered with the Financial Services Authority to date