Agent strategy for branchless banking in Indonesia

• Sep 25, 2025
• 1 min

While Indonesia has historically pushed for financial inclusion, banks struggled to identify sustainable models to extend services beyond branches. Potential agents lacked clear incentives, operational support, and capacity to serve unbanked communities at scale.

MSC partnered with Bank Mandiri under the USAID-funded e-MITRA initiative to design a viable branchless banking strategy. We conducted field research to map agent archetypes, from retail shops to post offices and health centers, after which we assessed their business viability, liquidity capacity, and trust levels. MSC developed a blueprint that covered agent selection, training, incentive design, liquidity management, and monitoring systems based on these insights.

Bank Mandiri adopted MSC’s recommendations, scaling its branchless banking network to 150,000+ agents nationwide. These agents now deliver savings, bill payments, and remittances across rural and urban Indonesia. The initiative significantly advanced financial inclusion by making low-cost, accessible banking services available to millions of unbanked and underbanked Indonesians.

Bank Mandiri commissioned the project.