Legal Literacy - This article discusses Digital Banks and their responsibilities to customers, especially regarding deposit interest rates.

Digital Bank

Current technological advances make it easier for people to carry out activities. Technological developments in the financial system create easy and practical financial transactions for the community. This is evident with the existence of digital banks in the banking sector. Digital Banks have many benefits for human life where they have effective, efficient and optimal Banking services.

The main function of Banking is to collect and distribute funds to the public and aims to support the implementation of national development in order to increase equitable development, economic growth and national stability. Banking is required to adapt to current changes in the digital era. One form of adaptation is Digital Banking.

According to Financial Services Authority Regulation of the Republic of Indonesia Number 12/POJK.03/2021 concerning Commercial Banks, Digital Bank is an Indonesian Legal Entity Bank (BHI) that provides and carries out business activities mainly through electronic channels without physical offices other than the head office or using limited physical offices and can be implemented by establishing a new BHI Bank as a Digital Bank or transforming from an existing BHI Bank into a Digital Bank.

One form of existence of Digital Banks is by providing deposit interest on a relatively large scale. Article 4 of Law Number 24 of 2004 concerning the Deposit Insurance Corporation stipulates that there is an obligation for all banking company business activities carried out in Indonesia to become guarantee participants through the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS).

This obligation is intended so that when a bank has failed to guarantee customer deposits, the money will be transferred to LPS's responsibility.

According to the provisions of PENG-7/DSPS of 2023 concerning Stipulation of Guarantee Interest Rates for Deposits in Commercial Banks, if the deposit interest rate agreed between the Digital Bank and the depositing customer exceeds the deposit guarantee interest rate, the customer's deposit in question is not guaranteed. However, it was found that not all Indonesian Digital Banks comply with LPS regulations regarding deposit guarantee interest rates and choose to promise to provide interest that is greater than the limit set by LPS.

This can have a bad impact when the Digital Bank experiences liquidation, which results in no guarantee for customer funds. Therefore, Digital Banking needs to be responsible to Customers for Deposit Interest Rates that exceed the provisions applicable to LPS, which aims to maintain public trust in banks while maintaining the existence of Digital Banking in Indonesia.