PT Bank Amar Indonesia Tbk., Indonesia’s first and only pure-play digital bank was founded in1991 in Surabaya. An industry pioneer in the emerging field of Financial Technology or FinTech, the bank provides technology-driven financial products and services, having undergone a significant digital transformation since its acquisition by Tolaram Group in 2014 to become one of the country’s FinTech forerunners.

Tunaiku, launched in 2014, is Indonesia’s first fully regulated app-based microloan platform, and continues to remain the flagship product of Amar Bank. The award-winning digital lending platform provides personal loans to individuals and MSMEs ( Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises ) that are processed and approved within 24 hours by leveraging big data analytics.

The bank has disbursed loans to more than 400,000 Tunaiku customers across Indonesia, the vast majority of whom seek loans for house renovation, business capital and education. The organization’s total disbursement exceeds more than 5 trillion rupiah. During the Covid-19 pandemic, Tunaiku continued to maintain its disbursement rates, and continued to help individuals and small businesses.

The bank officially launched at the Indonesian Stock Exchange (BEI) on January 9 2020 by releasing 1.2 billion shares through an initial public offering. The technology company declares that its mission statement is to provide banking to those who ‘need’ and not only to those who ‘want’. 

Upholding a philosophy that technology must bring positive impact and change people’s lives for the better, PT Bank Amar hopes to reach more customers, and to widen their access to financial services.

The organization, which has earned a whopping 21 awards since 2017, prides itself on a relatively low turnaround rate in the industry, firmly believing in proper retention strategies such as the establishment of a company culture where innovation and flexibility are fostered and maintained. Self-functioning team work is also encouraged and staff can directly consult with the Board of Directors whenever they encounter difficulties.

The bank, which has been implementing digitization from the outset, had only had to make minor adjustments during the Covid 19 pandemic, and sees huge opportunities ahead for digital banking. In August 2020, with technology at the centre of people’s financial wellbeing, Amar Bank in partnership with Google launched Senyumku, Indonesia’s first digital bank launched on Cloud. Senyumku, equipped with Artificial Intelligence, intelligently encourages better savings habits while augmenting discipline for better control of personal finances. 

In December 2020, Bank Amar became one of the few companies to secure the globally recognized ISO 27001 Certification. This International Standard adopts a process approach for establishing, implementing, operating, monitoring, reviewing, maintaining and enhancing information security in enterprises. The company remains focused on both the personal and technical development of its employees. In order to optimize the full potential of its employees, the bank offers digital skills and knowledge through the online platform Coursera & Udemy.

Bank Amar is also firmly committed to several Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives, one of which is its collaboration with Habitat for Humanity, an international, non-profit organization. Their joint CSR endeavor has been named “Amar Bangun Senyum” which translates in English as “Amar Creates Smiles,” in keeping with the bank’s lofty vision to bring smiles to two hundred million faces in Indonesia by 2025. The initiative entails the building of twenty houses for twenty families in the Babakan Madang sub-district of Sentul.