Held at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, BTN held the Grand Launching of Bale by BTN as part of the celebration of BTN’s 75th anniversary. The event was attended by Minister of State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Erick Thohir, Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas (PKP) Maruarar Sirait, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives (DPR) Saan Mustopa, Chairman of DPR Commission XI Misbakhun, Deputy Chairman of Commission XI Fauzi Amro and members of Commission XI, Deputy Chairman of the DPR Legislative Body Martin Manurung, Deputy Chairman of Commission VI Adisatrya Suryo Sulisto, and member of Commission XIII Marinus Gea.
The event was also attended by Jakarta Governor-elect Pramono Anung, Deputy Minister of Immigration and Corrections Silmy Karim, Secretary of the Ministry of SOEs Rabin Hatari and deputies of the Ministry of SOEs, Cabinet Secretariat Deputies Thanon Arya and Parikesit, BP Tapera Commissioner Heru Pudyo Nugroho, Chairman of the Central Advisory Council of the Indonesian Real Estate Association (DPP REI) Joko Suranto, Chairman of the Indonesian Housing and Settlement Developers Association (APERSI) Junaidi Abdillah, and Chairman of the Indonesian People’s Housing Developers Association (Himperra) Ari Tri Priyono.
In his remarks, Minister of PKP Maruarar Sirait expressed appreciation to all BTN employees (BTNers) and BTN management for their contributions in supporting public housing fulfillment in line with the government’s Three Million Houses Program. Based on data from the Ministry of PKP, from the inauguration of President Prabowo Subianto on October 20, 2024 until February 5, 2025, BTN and its Sharia business unit, BTN Syariah, contributed financing for 23,313 housing units, or nearly 76% of the total distribution of the Housing Financing Liquidity Facility (FLPP), which has reached 93,484 units.
“As the Minister of PKP, I would like to thank you because you have helped the struggle for public housing. We have an extraordinary target, which is to build and renovate three million houses in one year, and much of it has already been done well by BTN,” said Maruarar.
On the same occasion, BTN President Director Nixon LP Napitupulu said that the bank’s 75th anniversary is a momentum for BTN to continue improving and transforming to better respond to customer needs and deliver increasingly positive performance. In line with this, after conducting a soft launch in early December last year, coinciding with BTN’s 75th anniversary, BTN officially launched the Bale by BTN Super App, previously known as BTN Mobile.
Bale by BTN is a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening BTN’s competitiveness as a transactional bank. It is expected that Bale by BTN will attract more sustainable low-cost retail funding and make it easier for customers to meet their needs digitally.
“As part of BTN’s transformation, today is a meaningful day. We officially launch Bale by BTN, a Super App that provides a new banking experience for customers with a complete journey. We deliberately chose the name Bale for this Super App because it comes from the word ‘balai,’ which means ‘house’—so this is a ‘home’ for the people of Indonesia. As of today, Bale is connected to 2.3 million users with a monthly transaction volume of Rp6.6 trillion. Every month, there are 100,000 new Bale by BTN users. We target that by the end of this year, the number of connected users will reach around 3.6 million to 4 million, and next year above 5 million,” Nixon said at the Grand Launching of Bale by BTN at Istora Senayan, Jakarta, Sunday (2/9).
Nixon explained that Bale by BTN offers various features that make banking and financial transactions easier, so customers only need one Super App for multiple needs. With increasing convenience in digital transactions, it is expected to help increase retail third-party funds (DPK) and fee-based income.
“With our new vision, ‘Main Partner in the Financial Empowerment of Indonesian Families,’ BTN is now more digital, modern, and up-to-date. In this special moment, we bring the message: ‘One Step for Indonesian Families.’ Every small step has great meaning in creating a positive impact for the nation and families throughout Indonesia,” Nixon said.
Meanwhile, Thomas Wahyudi, SEVP Digital Business at BTN, added that increasing customer trust in BTN’s digital platform can be seen from Bale by BTN’s positive achievements since it was still called BTN Mobile. Currently, Bale by BTN’s user base is projected to reach 3.6 million, with transaction volumes reaching Rp8 trillion per month. Each month, BTN gains 125,000 new Bale by BTN users.
“BTN’s digital performance shows positive growth with an increase in active Bale by BTN users. This is because BTN has transformed in such a way that its digital transactions have experienced a quantum leap (significant jump),” Thomas said.
According to Thomas, in the digital era, people seek services that can optimize all their banking needs. Therefore, the more comfortable customers feel transacting through digital platforms, the higher the transaction volume and the larger the balance stored in savings accounts. This trend is reflected in the increase of savings balances, eDepo (online deposits), and merchant balances in Bale by BTN at the end of 2024 compared to the previous year.
At the end of December 2024, BTN recorded an almost 43% year-on-year (yoy) increase in savings balances to Rp16.76 trillion, from Rp11.66 trillion previously. Meanwhile, eDepo balances surged 103.84% yoy to Rp5.3 trillion, from Rp2.6 trillion previously. Merchant balances also rose 58.6% yoy to Rp2.49 trillion, from Rp1.57 trillion previously.
“The majority of active BTN Mobile users are dominated by millennials or productive customers who have income and are accustomed to transacting using mobile banking. With the potential for rapid transaction growth, BTN hopes Bale by BTN can help people manage their finances, in line with our new vision of becoming the ‘Main Partner in the Financial Empowerment of Indonesian Families,’” Thomas said.
The Bale by BTN concept was previously introduced during the Soft Launching event on December 15, 2024, during BTN’s 48th mortgage anniversary celebration, which was also attended by Minister of Housing and Settlement Areas Maruarar Sirait and Minister of SOEs Erick Thohir.
Thomas said Bale by BTN provides a new banking experience with a complete journey, including opening savings and eDeposit accounts, transactional banking, loan applications, merchant applications, a featured lifestyle ecosystem, and Plus by BTN Prioritas. Many other features and benefits are also available to meet the needs of all customer segments at any time, such as investment portfolio management and 30% cashback at 51 national merchants and 1,731 local merchants.
“Like the philosophy of bale, which means a hall or house where all family members gather, we hope Bale by BTN can become the home for all BTN applications, making it a one-stop service for financial needs as well as daily lifestyle services,” Thomas said.
In line with Bale by BTN’s uniqueness in connecting customers to the housing ecosystem, BTN has integrated the BTN Properti platform into Bale by BTN and developed a more efficient online mortgage (KPR) application feature. “BTN is the first bank to initiate online mortgage applications, allowing customers to input the required data and documents without having to visit a branch office. When the contract signing takes place, once an e-notary system is available, BTN will also digitalize the notary process,” Thomas explained.
Furthermore, Thomas stated that BTN also hopes Bale by BTN will attract younger segments such as Gen Z and university students. Therefore, the Super App was designed to be more catchy, with softer color tones and easy-to-use feature icons that appeal to younger users.
“Bale also stands for ‘BTN Around Lifestyle Ecosystem,’ which reflects how Bale by BTN can become a solution to increase low-cost funds and fee-based income by meeting the needs of all segments and strengthening BTN’s engagement, especially with the mass retail segment. We hope Bale by BTN can become a product champion and strengthen BTN’s positioning in the national banking industry,” Thomas concluded.
