A Review of the Implementation of Financial Technology (Fintech) in the Indonesian Agricultural Sector: Issues, Access, and Challenges

Abstract

Technological developments, especially in the financial sector, are slowly changing the financial industry through digitalization towards fintech. The application of fintech has been introduced to Indonesia in the last few years; however, the existence and development of fintech in Indonesia still needs to be studied further. This review provided a comprehensive overview of farmer technology accessibility, fintech preferences, fintech application impacts, fintech application problems, and challenges in the future. The review data are taken from the primary and secondary data related to fintech from numerous publications in Google Scholar, the interview of Indonesian farmers, and Indonesian Government data, including the Central Statistics Agency. This study confirmed that a fintech provider has been developed in Indonesia. The farmers’ accessibility to fintech was different between urban and rural areas due to the farmers’ education levels and the availability of the infrastructure. Fintech can provide practicality, ease of access, comfort, and cost-effectiveness, and can solve existing problems in Indonesian society. However, several problems arise, including infrastructure and internet access that is less supportive, as well as a lack of education, competent workers, and regulation. Agricultural fintech is a promising business in the future, despite the many challenges that need to be overcome for a stronger agricultural sector.