THE ROLE OF THE BATARA AGENT AS A BRANCHLESS BANKING BUSINESS FACILITY AT PT BANK TABUNGAN NEGARA (PERSERO) PONTIANAK BRANCH

Abstract

The National Strategy for Financial Inclusion (SNKI) which aims to improve the welfare of the community in the form of providing officeless financial services known as branchless banking. This is in line with the large community needs in this era for financial transactions, so Bank BTN created the Batara Agent program to support and realize the SNKI program. This study aims to determine the role of the Batara Agent in the West Kalimantan region and the constraints and solutions related to the role of the Batara Agent. This type of research is descriptive qualitative. Data collection techniques in this study were interviews and documentation. Data analysis uses the Miles and Faisal model, namely: data reduction, data presentation, inference and verification, and final conclusion. The role of the Batara Agent consists of various kinds of actions, namely installing banners and x-banners, informing and promoting to relatives related to their agency which is a form of role in verbal communication, agents also study, understand and provide financial transaction services to the public which is a form of role in terms of service. Batara agents have been able to reach areas far from bank offices, making it easier for the public in terms of financial transactions in the form of faster, closer and affordable, so that its role as a branchless banking business facility in the context of financial inclusion is good but not optimal in terms of service. Constraints faced are constraints in inputting errors by agents, lack of promotion and constraints on EDC machines that have errors and signal disturbances. The solution is to be more thorough, improve the education process and provide information related to Batara agents through tellers, CS, social media, and visits to Batara Agent areas.