Hijra Bank, a subsidiary of Islamic P2P finance platform ALAMI Group, has obtained the payment service providers category 1 (PJP-1) license from Bank Indonesia, which allows the digital rural bank to provide more payment services to customers, the first for any rural bank in the Republic.
Under the PJP-1 license, Hijra Bank will be able to offer services such as providing information on the source of funds, payment initiation and/or acquiring services, administering the source of funds and remittance services. This would allow Hijra Bank to offer more competitive pricing to its customers, said ALAMI Group CEO Dima Djani.
“PJP-1 license is not for the faint-hearted, Bank Indonesia does have a very rigorous process in evaluating the applicant for this license, and this is largely for customer protection. We often hear that applicants need more than a year to obtain this license or even more, depending on their readiness. We are grateful to have a strong team to nail this under a year, and being the first state/rural bank that has this license,” Dima wrote on his LinkedIn. The license application process took nine months.
The payment license adds to the digital mobile banking license Hijra Bank secured early this year. Hijra Bank, previously known as BPRS Cempaka Al-Amin, was an Islamic rural bank acquired by the P2P platform in 2021 as part of its digital banking ambitions.
The new license also follows on the heels of ALAMI closing a pre-Series B funding round in October, proceeds from which will be used to fuel its aggressive expansion plan, particularly in the neo banking space. The firm intends to raise US$60-80 million in Series B equity funding next year.
Founded in 2019 as a financial comparison marketplace, ALAMI has demonstrated phenomenal growth. It has disbursed over IDR4.1 trillion (US$262.53 million) in financing while keeping its non-performing finance at zero since its establishment.