Muhammad Andi Miftachul Huda
2022 Application to MSc in Finance, Technology and Policy – The University of Edinburgh
As a bank supervisor with a computer science background working in Otoritas Jasa Keuangan – OJK (Indonesia’s Financial Services Authority), I have been much involved in activities related to financial technology (fintech) including licensing digital related products, assessing bank and fintech institution collaboration, and examining operational and information technology risk. Currently, I am working on assessing a bank proposal to enroll digital onboarding using artificial intelligence for e-KYC identification, which has great potential in boosting inclusive finances by enabling people in remote areas with no bank branch to create an account. Although this process is already widely applied in UK & European bankings, Indonesia is still very new in adopting this technology. That is why I found it significant for me to seriously pursue this field by studying at a postgraduate level.
In regard to the programme, I found that the provided modules such as “Perspectives on Financial Innovation: Markets, Technologies, and Policies” and “Blockchain, Governance and Policy” could refine my skills to become a competent decision-maker and analyst, to guide appropriate regulation and policy to support fintech for inclusivity and prevent regulatory gap in technology application. OJK as the policy-maker needs to ensure high-quality supervision and regulation. In here, the knowledge and credentials obtained from the study will help me to contribute not only in supervising banks and fintech, but also helping OJK developing suptech and regtech to monitor the industry more effectively and to predict potential problems, instead of regulating after the fact.
Aspiring to take the senior level and be a fintech leading expert, I am continuously learning the fintech update. Recently, I took part in the Cyber Security Workshop held by Bank Negara Malaysia and the FinTech: Innovation and Transformation in Financial Services course by National University of Singapore. From those, I learned the urgency in facing the inherent risks that come with the impact of emerging technologies. This solidified my decision to pursue the study at postgraduate level, to help me in my work ensuring regulation and supervision remains proportional to the risks.
Indonesia is progressively pursuing financial inclusion with fintech, therefore, it is critical for regulators to experts in this matter. I actively produce publications regarding fintech applications in my blog http://andimif.com and national newspapers. I also initiated a waste bank project that connected to a bank. People could give away recyclable wastes to be deposited and valued with a sum of money to their bank account. This model both enhance financial inclusion and protect the environment. Further uses of fintech for financial inclusion is one thing I wish to explore throughout study.
The opportunity to study at the unique programme will enhance my career development, and at the same time I am hoping to enrich the programme’s international learning community at The University of Edinburgh, especially my insight regarding Indonesia financial regulation and Southeast Asia financial market in general.