Telkomsel T-Cash Appears to be More Popular Outside Java

Are you sure that people living in Java island are the only technology-literate people? You’ll be amazed to this fact: T-cash, an e-wallet (or e-money) product by Telkomsel, is more attractive to people outside Java than people living in Java itself. In addition to T-Cash, Telkomsel also has Tap-Izy that already embedded inside SIM Card chip (in the form of RFID), and released for Jabodetabek area only, at least for the time being.

As reported by TRIBUNnews, until 2011, the number of T-Cash users reached 8.2 million subscribers, in which 32% of the users live in Sumatra and 14% lives in Sulawesi-Maluku-Papua area. Customers from Jabodetabek only accounted for 12% of total users. Although the population of Sumatra as a whole is a lot more compared to Jabodetabek, but this result opens our eyes that it’s not necessarily smaller number of mobile (financial) transactions in Sumatra.

Sumatra also achieved largest transaction on daily average reaching the amount of 6 million Rupiah a day from an average of 324 transactions a day. Sulawesi-Maluku-Papua accounted for a value of 3 million Rupiah a day with an average of 162 transactions a day, while Jabodetabek area only has a rate of 1.8 million Rupiah a day on the average of 101 transactions a day.

What is actually done by many people outside Java by T-Cash? According to Ricardo Indra, Head of Corporate Communications Division of Telkomsel, Telkomsel customers outside Java generally use T-Cash to a variety of remote payment transactions, including prepaid phone voucher, electric bill payment and other payment transactions that are generally done through ATM.

Could this be because of the amount of ATM outside Java is less than in Java? Could be. But this is a strong indication that such e-wallet has tremendous potential in Indonesia if dealt with seriously, especially when targeted to communities outside Java that require convenience of this kind for various financial transactions.