Jalin Readies RAFI 24/7 Command Posts Ahead of 2023 Eid al Fitr to Anticipate a Surge in Transactions

Jakarta, April 6, 2023 – The number of digital payment transactions is growing annually. In its report, Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded a 31.14% YoY growth of the value of electronic money (UE) transactions in February 2023, which reached Rp35.7 trillion. Due to the increased mobility of society after the revocation of the PPKM (Restrictions on Community Activities) policy, PT Jalin Pembayaran Nusantara (“Jalin”) as a Payment System Infrastructure Provider (PIP) tightens its operational quality and security by establishing RAFI 24/7 Command Posts to anticipate transaction spikes during 1444 H Ramadan and Eid al Fitr period.

At the 2023 LINK RAFI Forum, the President Director of Jalin, Ario Tejo Bayu Aji, said that the 24/7 RAFI Command Posts are part of Jalin’s annual routine activity carried out to provide optimal system and service quality to 39 bank and non-bank members within the LINK network. 2023 RAFI Command Posts are active for 17 days on April 15 – May 01, 2023 and carry the theme of BERKAH (Berkomitmen Sukseskan Langkah). The initiative is a form of Jalin’s collaboration and commitment to all members in providing the best financial transaction services to banking and fintech customers during the Eid al Fitr homecoming period.

“We prepare LINK network management infrastructure systems in various payment channels such as ATM, debit, digital banking, and QRIS by maintaining operational performance that conforms to the agreed Service Level Agreement (SLA). This measure is supported by daily transaction monitoring activities, help desk availability, improvement in alert notification response, and tighter maintenance of threshold minimum procedure if a problem occurs. This is in line with the regulator’s appeal to strengthen financial services security as the volume of digital-based payment transactions increases,” said Ario.

He added, Jalin also carried out various preparations for ATM managed service to maintain seamless and comfortable transactions using ATMs during the homecoming period. Such preparations include conducting preventive maintenance of ATMs at the homecoming routes, ensuring adequate coverage of technicians in various areas in case of any problems, and maximizing the JSEECA platform (Jalin Site & Endpoint Controller Apps) to maintain the performance of Jalin’s and members’ ATM managed service in real-time. “This is part of our effort to ensure a comprehensive operational excellence in supporting the seamless and secure transactions of customers in the midst of the joyful celebration of Eid al Fitri,” said Ario.

This year, BI has prepared Rp195 trillion in cash, an increase of 8.22% from the previous year, to support the needs of society during Ramadan and Eid al Fitr. After PPKM was rescinded, this year, the economy is predicted to grow positively by about 5 percent and the number of homecomers is expected to increase. The peak of the surge in transactions is estimated to occur before the collective leave on April 19, 2023 as the society would be highly mobile as they fulfill their needs before homecoming and Eid al Fitr, prepare Religious Holiday Allowance (THR), and donate zakat in the case of Muslims.

Jalin projects that there will be a surge in the volume of transactions in the LINK network through ATM, debit, mobile banking, and QRIS with a total of up to 105 million transactions in the period of 14 days before and after Eid al Fitr. Such figure constitutes a 7 percent increase compared to transaction volume in the previous month or March 2023. Meanwhile, transaction volume through QRIS during 2023 RAFI is projected to experience the most significant growth of more than 700 percent (YoY) or up to 43 million transactions.

“The rapid growth of digital transactions encourages Jalin to continue improving its competency and the security of its services in accordance with regulator and global standards. To date, Jalin has obtained ISO 27001, PCI DSS 3.2.1, and PCI PIN 3.1 certifications. It will continue to aim for other certifications, mainly those related to the competency of digital-based financial system security in line with Jalin’s vision to become ‘The National Digital Highway’. That way, banking customers will be protected and feel comfortable when making a transaction through both conventional and digital channels as society leans more and more to cashless transactions,” said Ario.

In the talk show segment of 2023 LINK RAFI forum, Chief Risk Officer of Dana, Cary Piantono, said that challenges related to security and mitigation of information technology risks faced by financial industry actors are not caused by the absence of users who make transactions, but instead by malevolent parties trying to break through the security system established. Thus, it is very important for Payment Service Providers (PJP), PIP, and other financial industry actors to have the highest security standards and multi-layer protection to avoid unfavorable conditions.

Similar to Cary, Ario expressed that Jalin is currently preparing the Fraud Detection System (FDS) initiative to address security risk challenges in digital financial services. This initiative will also complement Jalin’s readiness to launch reliable and trusted e-channel platform-based products for the public. “Jalin hopes that the 2023 LINK Forum and RAFI Command Posts will constitute a good collaborative moment among industry actors in building a secure financial ecosystem. As a result, the spirit of operational excellence promoted during RAFI can continue producing other digital initiatives that put security aspect as one of the main points,” Ario concluded.