BRI affirms commitment to accelerating wage subsidy distribution

Jakarta (ANTARA) - State-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) has affirmed its commitment to accelerating the distribution of funds under the wage subsidy program (BSU).

BRI's director of institutional relations and SOEs, Agus Noorsanto, revealed that the bank has prepared a strategy for distributing BSU quickly and accurately while maintaining the security and confidentiality of recipients' data.

"Based on data from the Manpower Ministry, BRI conducts an account opening and mapping on the BSU recipients' companies' locations to determine the nearest BRI operational work units," Noorsanto explained in an official statement received here on Friday.

According to him, workers who already have an active BRI account can receive direct transfers under BSU to their accounts.

BSU is a wage subsidy program provided to workers who have certain wages and are active in the Workers Social Security Program, he said.

The subsidy is also being provided to those working in areas under Level 3 or 4 public activity restrictions (PPKM), he added.

BSU is also prioritizing those who work in industrial sectors such as consumer goods, transportation, industries, property and real estate, trade and services, except education and health services, he informed.

Noorsanto said a subsidy of Rp1 million is being provided to every worker. Workers receiving BSU funds can directly access the assistance through an ATM or by visiting the nearest BRI office and activating an account if they are new BRI customers, he added.

By the end of 2021, the government is targeting to distribute Rp8.7 trillion in subsidies to a total of 8.7 million recipients through Himbara (BRI, BNI, BTN, and Bank Mandiri) banks, Noorsanto said.

"Meanwhile, until mid-September 2021, BRI has distributed BSU worth Rp1.3 trillion to more than 1.3 million recipients," he said.

"In line with the company's strategy of business follow stimulus, BRI is committed to be a strategic partner of the government to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic impact on the community through various distributions of social assistance," he added.