Indonesia Explores Mobile Data for Fintech Credit Scoring

Emerging Alternative Credit Assessment Methods

Indonesian financial regulators and industry experts are discussing innovative approaches to credit scoring in the fintech lending sector. The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has welcomed the use of QRIS transaction history as a basis for credit assessment ¹

. Meanwhile, experts propose that mobile data usage could serve as another valuable alternative data source.

Mobile Data as Creditworthiness Indicator

Nailul Huda, Director of the Digital Economy at Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), suggests that mobile data consumption patterns could indicate an individual's creditworthiness. According to Huda, higher mobile data usage might correlate with better financial capability, as it suggests a stronger demand for internet services ¹

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Key Insights from Mobile Data

1. Data consumption volume: Higher data usage potentially indicates better financial capacity
2. Payment method: Postpaid vs prepaid plans could signal different financial behaviors
3. Usage consistency: Continuous vs intermittent usage patterns may reflect financial stability

Regulatory Perspective

The OJK has expressed support for using financial transaction data, including QRIS transactions, in credit assessments for online lending ¹

. This approach is seen as particularly beneficial for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) whose financial activities might not be fully captured through traditional credit scoring methods.

Technology's Role

Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Juda Agung highlighted the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing credit scoring mechanisms. Agung emphasized that AI should be viewed as an advanced tool that can process various data points, including digital transaction records, to better assess creditworthiness ¹

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