BRISAT LAUNCHES NEW ERA OF DIGITAL BANKING INDUSTRY by Fardah

Jakarta, June 25, 2016 (Antara) - June 19 was a historic day for Indonesia's state-owned PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Tbk (BRI) when Arianespace successfully orbited BRIsat, the first satellite in the world dedicated to a financial establishment and belonging to BRI.

         The Indonesian BRIsat (Bank Rakyat Indonesia Satellite) is a communications satellite meant for banking purposes built by Space Systems/Loral (SSL) for BRI.

         BRI had signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the building and launch of the satellite with Space System/Loral, LLC (SSL) from United States and ArianeSpace from France in April 2014.

          With BRIsat, BRI is the only bank in the world to own and operate its own satellite.   
  It will provide both C-band and Ku-band coverage for Indonesia, South East Asia and North East Asia.

        The satellite will allow BRI to offer its customers fast, simple and secure access to banking services, as well as provide a complete and innovative range of business solutions.

         "BRIsat has brought about a new era in the banking and global financial industry," BRI President Director Asmawi Syam said after the launch of the satellite by the European Aerospace company.    
    The satellite has 45 transponders, of which four will be handed over to the government.

         The bank will expand "digital banking" after the launch of its satellite.

          "We hope that after the satellite is well in its orbit, the first thing we can do is to develop digital banking," he added.

           BRI needs a phase of "customer education" before going through "customer experience", he said.

          In digital banking, clients are not served by human beings but through self-service with technological facilities.   
  "That is why the phase of education is needed. It is like when you buy a hand phone. You need some time to learn how to use it," he said.

          With this satellite, BRI hopes to improve services, become faster, and with greater accuracy, he said.

         The operation of BRIsat will be effective as of the second week of August 2016, or 50 days after the launch, Aswami Syam said.

    

    
 The Rp3.377 trillion (roughly US$250 million) BRIsat will save 40 percent of the satellite operational cost, as BRI has to pay Rp500 billion per year for satellite rental service so far, according to BRI Consumer Director Sis Apik Wijayanto.    
      The launch was conducted from the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana.

          Positioned at 150.5 degrees East longitude, the satellite will enable BRI to provide enhanced secure banking communications for more than 10,600 operational branches, 236,939 electronic channel outlets, and almost 53 million customers across the Indonesian archipelago.

         The launch of BRISat was delayed thrice due to either unfavorable weather conditions over the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, or a problem with the Ariane 5's rocket boosters.

           "It has been an honor to work with bank BRI to build a satellite that will help improve lives in Indonesia by expanding the availability of banking services," John Celli, president of SSL, said.

         "We are pleased that the satellite arrived at the launch base on schedule and we look forward to its successful launch," he was quoted as saying on the website of NASA Spaceflight.com.

        BRIsat is based on the SSL 1300 satellite platform, which has the flexibility to support a broad range of applications and technology advances. The satellite is designed to provide a service for 15 years or longer.

       SSL is also providing BRI with a complete ground system solution, which includes two satellite control facilities, as well as training, and launch support services.

         The satellite would make it easier for BRI to diversify banking products especially ones that need latest technology, Sis said.

          With the satellite it would be easier for the bank to spread access and financial products among all people in all areas in the country, Sis remarked.

       The high-frequency electromagnetic waves will facilitate the delivery of banking transactions, involving both numerical and audio-visual data. As a result, it will improve the quality of banking services.

        BRIsat would provide several advantages to the company, Sis explained.

         Firstly, BRI could easily diversify banking products, particularly those requiring the use of advanced technology.

         Secondly, BRI could encourage proper financial inclusion.

    
  BRI had sent 53 technicians for training to operate the satellite at SSL, Sis said, and added they have completed the training.

        The launch of BRIsat is a historic moment for Indonesia, particularly for the development of the banking industry, according to Corporate Secretary of BRI Hari Siaga Amijarso.

         "This reminds us of the operation of Palapa in 1976," he noted in a statement. ***3***
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(T.F001/A/BESSR/F. Assegaf) 25-06-2016 15:02:05