Effective on 27 September 2021, PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Agroniaga Tbk officially changed its name into Bank Raya. President Director of BRI Agro Kaspar Situmorang stated that the rebranding is in line with its plan to transform its business model into a digital bank.
“This aligns with our commitment to transform the image of BRI Agro, previously connected to agriculture or a palm oil bank, into a full orientation as a digital bank,” he said.
Kaspar said that the Covid-19 pandemic acted as a catalyst for the banking industry to undergo digital transformation.
Digital banks provide banking services just like conventional banks, with one key difference: digital banks provide fully online services, thus eliminating the need for customers to physically enter the premises of a branch office.
According to a survey of its readers by KG Media, people are still confusing e-wallets, internet/mobile banking, and digital bank with one another.
Of 613 respondents of at least 17 years old, 71 percent stated that they do not understand the definition of digital bank and only 29 percent who said that they understand the definition.
Interestingly, among the people who said that they understand the definition of digital bank, most of them associate the term with “ease of transactions”. This is markedly different with conventional banks, which the survey said that is closely associated with “savings”.
This finding indicates the public’s positive perception of digital banks, again in contrast with conventional banks which tend to be neutrally perceived by the public. An interesting point is that respondents that have never used the services of digital banks show the same perception. This demonstrates that public awareness of digital banks is quite high.
The study also shows that the image or impression that comes to mind when a person uses the services of digital banks is practical (41%), cool (12%), technologically advanced (10%), and modern (9.6%). No wonder that the majority of users are Gen Y (millennials) and Gen Z (zoomers). In general, the two groups state the same reason when deciding to use digital banks: more beneficial facilities.
The results of this study demonstrates that the rebranding of BRI Agro into Bank Raya is the right step to fulfil the needs of the community. Under its new name, the bank that previously was closely connected with a farming image has now opened itself into collaborations with technology companies and new investors.
