Indonesian Lenders Work to Contain Nationwide Satellite Error
Jakarta. Commercial banks currently affected by the Telkom-1 satellite glitch, which first appeared on Friday (25/08), have taken measures to increase services to customers, with one bank even offering free cash withdrawals.
Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), a state-controlled lender, is among the least impacted banks of the glitch, as it operates its own satellite.
"But we still apologize to our customers for the inconvenience because over the weekend there were 321 BRI ATM units and 124 BRI working units affected by the Telkom-1 problem," Indra Utoyo, BRI's digital banking and strategy director, said in a statement on Monday.
According to Indra, BRI has largely managed to contain the problem, as only 195 BRI ATM units are still inoperable. BRI currently services 24,802 ATMs at locations across the archipelago.
"Every network affected by the problem will be migrated as soon as possible to BRISat as the main network and the backup to another network," Indra said, referring to the bank's telecommunication satellite launched in June last year and which connects more than 10,000 BRI branches across the country.
The Telkom-1 glitch has also affected nearly 100 Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) ATMs across the country. BTN, the country's largest mortgage provider, has so far remained mostly unaffected by the glitch because it moved its network to 4G.
"We want speed the recovery to service our customers," said Agus Susanto, BTN's corporate secretary.
The glitch also affected the biggest lenders by assets in the country, including Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia and Bank Central Asia.
Bank Central Asia (BCA) is currently offering free cash withdrawals for its customers from any ATM until the glitch is resolved. Normally, a customer has to pay a Rp 7,500 ($0.56) each time he or she takes cash from a different bank's ATM.
"But it's only for cash withdrawals. Other services, such as balance checking and transfers, will still be charged because the customers can use the Internet or mobile banking," BCA president director Jahja Setiaatmadja said, as quoted by Antaranews.com.
Jahja said the typical Rp 7,500 fees will be credited back to customers' accounts at the end of the month. The lender has prepared up to Rp 70 billion to cover the inter-bank cash withdrawal costs.
BCA will migrate about 3,700 ATM units to the Telkom-3S satellite and about 2,000 ATM units to the Apstar satellite.
Indonesia's Financial Services Authority, or OJK, acknowledged but played down the impact of the glitch, saying it only affected ATM units in a few areas.
OJK and Bank Indonesia are continuing to coordinate with Telekomunikasi Indonesia, the satellite's operator, to resolve the problem.
"Customers are advised to confirm to their bank's call center in the case of a problem [...] do not easily believe misleading news," said Anto Prabowo, the acting deputy commissioner of strategic management and logistics at OJK.
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