How can inclusion work if it leaves out people?

• by Putu Monica Christy and Fifi Rashando
• Jul 18, 2025
• 4 min

Only 22% of PwD, elderly, and vulnerable groups in Indonesia have bank accounts. Digital finance helps, but access barriers and discrimination persist. Inclusive design and targeted action are key to closing the gap.

Alarmingly, only 22% of people with disability (PwD), the elderly, and vulnerable groups in Indonesia have bank accounts, as per 2022 data from Otoritas Jasa Keuangan (OJK). This points to a vast chasm that lies in contrast to Indonesia’s Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) target of 98% financial inclusion by 2045. The Presidential Regulation No. 114/2000 also included PwD and the elderly in social welfare programs, yet their access to financial services has not kept up with their increasing economic participation.

With the rise of digital financial services, PwD face challenges and gaps when they attempt to access financial products. This is why interventions must be prioritized to enhance digital financial literacy and disability-inclusion sensitivity. OJK released the SETARA Guideline to address this growing digital divide. It provides a comprehensive framework to enhance financial inclusion for PwD in Indonesia. Yet, the implementation lacks actionable steps with defined targets from financial service providers (FSPs), regulators, and the government.

What did the DFAT-funded study reveal?

The DFAT-funded study conducted by Opportunity International Australia (OIA), MicroSave Consulting (MSC), and Koperasi Mitra Dhuafa (KOMIDA) finds that digital financial services can significantly improve financial access for PwD. Services, such as digital bank account opening, reduce the need for physical mobility, while FinTech lending offers simpler, more accessible alternatives to traditional bank credit.

Some apps have integrated screen readers and text-to-speech functionalities, though their adoption remains limited. DANA, OVO, and GoPay have started implementing these accessibility features. Despite this development, PwD still face challenges when they access financial services, which include biometric and e-KYC processes incompatible with specific impairments, business loan applications, and discriminatory treatment from bank staff. Until these systemic issues are solved, FSPs cannot be called inclusive.

Tailored solutions to drive PwD’s financial inclusion

Microfinance institutions (MFIs) have managed to offer grassroots solutions to reach PwD in villages and low-income communities. KOMIDA, for example, has approximately 15,000 female clients with disability spread across 13 provinces in Indonesia. These groups encourage the institutions to develop tailored products that include loan products for assistive technology, home and business renovation, and education savings for family members to access special education.

FSPs should also strengthen their efforts to enhance inclusivity. Accessible infrastructure, such as ATMs, bank branches, and trained staff is essential, but it needs more targeted interventions. These must include organization-wide gender and disability sensitization, alongside the development of tailored financial products for PwD.

The way forward for inclusion

MSC’s collaborative study has highlighted three strategic priorities, “the 3Ms,” to accelerate disability inclusion in Indonesia’s financial services.

Mainstream: All financial platforms and products must integrate universal design to drive innovation. This will ensure accessibility and inclusion for women, the elderly, PWD, people with low-income, and others with specific needs. The principle of “nothing about us without us” guides this. The increasing ageing population similarly faces barriers in terms of access to financial services. For example, television subtitles, originally designed to support individuals with hearing impairments, have also proven valuable for older adults and people who multitask—demonstrating how inclusive design can benefit a wider audience.

Mobilize: Mobilizing ecosystem collaboration will enable disability equity and rights. The private sector can lead by mainstreaming disability inclusion. It can improve ESG performance, integrate PWD into the workforce and supply chains, and offer inclusive products and services to reach underserved markets. The social sector, in particular, organizations of persons with disability (OPDs), should be engaged in advocacy and as expert service providers to support disability mainstreaming and enable meaningful employment and entrepreneurship.

Measure: Governments and regulators must establish clear and measurable targets to advance disability inclusion. The success of disability mainstreaming hinges on formal government endorsement, accountability, and sustained commitment. The Australian government offered tax incentives to organizations that hire or serve people with disability and mandates that all DFAT (Department of Foreign Aid and Trade)-funded foreign investments align with gender equality, disability equity, and rights. This model proves how policy can drive systemic inclusion through public, private, and social sector collaborations, regular disability inclusion sensitization, monitoring, and independent evaluations to ensure sustained progress.

People with disability have immense economic potential, but systemic exclusion has limited their potential. They are too often viewed through a charity lens, but they are entrepreneurs, workers, consumers, and vital contributors to national growth. This systemic exclusion represents not merely a rights issue but a missed economic opportunity for them.

Financial systems designed with accessibility and equity at their core can uphold financial inclusion. They have opened new markets, driven local economies, and fueled national productivity. Inclusion must now be directed beyond doing the right thing, but as smart economics.

This article was first published on The Jakarta Post platform on July 18th, 2025