Depok-Digital financial literacy is becoming increasingly important in the current technological era, especially among Gen Z as the largest users of digital financial services. The choice of financial products must also be done selectively with wise considerations so as not to get trapped in illegal financial products that ensnare or consume a consumptive lifestyle. The Universitas Indonesia (UI) Vocational Education Program, as one of the vocational education programs that has a Financial Administration and Banking study program, has high hopes for the success of digital financial literacy among students in particular and the wider community in general. Digital financial literacy among students is considered very important so that students can use financial technology wisely, avoid fraud, and manage personal finances effectively.
Seeing these conditions, UI Vocational launched the UI Vocational Digital Friends community or SALVI which aims to improve the understanding and skills of UI Vocational students in managing digital-based financial products. The launch of SALVI was held in conjunction with the one year anniversary of the Digital Financial Center (DFC) at the UI Depok Campus on May 15-16, 2024. The event, which was held in conjunction with public lectures and scientific discussions, also brought together various banking industry and financial sector players, namely BNI, BNI Life Insurance, BNI Sekuritas, BNI Asset Management, and Askrindo Syariah. Apart from that, fintech securities crowdfunding players, Danamart and Urun RI were also present at the event.
(Photo: Group photo of all participants at the SALVI launch event and DFC’s one year anniversary)
Deputy Director for Implementation of Financial Education at the Financial Services Authority, Halimah Sa’diyah, in her speech said that to increase financial literacy, OJK is actively carrying out various educational and outreach activities to the public, especially to ten priority targets, including students, students and youth, as well as profession. Halimah said, “Several initiatives have been carried out to accelerate digital transformation in the financial services sector, including developing digital infrastructure, increasing digital financial literacy, and regulations that support digital financial innovation that can be utilized by the public. For example, payment systems, peer-to-peer lending, securities crowdfunding, and digital financial innovations including aggregators, financial agents, funding agents, financial planners, and wealth tech.”
The launch of the SALVI community is a concrete step to achieve this goal. The SALVI community will be a forum for students to learn, share information and develop skills in the field of digital finance. Apart from that, the SALVI community will also play a role in organizing seminars, workshops, outreach and other educational activities that focus on digital financial literacy.
Director of the UI Vocational Education Program, Padang Wicaksono, S.E., Ph.D, said that students have a strategic role as financial literacy agents. Through a good understanding of digital financial products, they can be the main driver in educating digital financial literacy among students or the wider community in order to increase financial inclusion in Indonesia. “As digital financial literacy agents, students not only enrich their own knowledge, but also help local communities to become more financially literate. This is very important to encourage financial inclusion in Indonesia. The existence of DFC and SALVI will provide a platform for students to hone their skills in the fields of finance and banking,” explained Padang.
Students involved in the SALVI community are expected to develop critical skills in assessing digital financial products, understand the risks and benefits, and be able to provide appropriate education to the public. So, they will play an active role in creating a society that is more aware and wise in using financial technology. To support SALVI activities, Vocational UI facilitates digital financial services at DFC in the form of financial transactions for Laku Pandai agents, funding & lending products, opening customer fund accounts (RDN) for capital market investment, digital insurance products, investment in MSMEs or Supply Chain Financing (SCF), and others.
