Rule enforcement for idle Indonesian bank accounts causes havoc among overseas workers

A recent rule enforcement by the Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK) has caused havoc, particularly among the many Indonesian nationals working abroad.

The PPATK suddenly enforced the temporary suspension of dormant bank accounts, saying that the measure aimed to address the accounts’ vulnerability to misuse for crimes such as money laundering and online gambling.

According to several Indonesian media outlets, an unknown number of bank accounts are on the line. The PPATK recently announced that it has already released access to about 30 million previously frozen bank accounts.

The case has drawn significant attention and impacted the country, leading President Prabowo Subianto to summon the head of PPATK, Ivan Yustiavandana, to the Presidential Palace on July 30 to report on the case.

In Macau, many non-resident workers (TNRs) and some residents have also reported having had issues with their bank accounts, as has reportedly happened in the neighboring region of Hong Kong.

The Times spoke to Yosa Wariyanti, the leader of the Indonesian Migrant Workers Union (IMWU), who told the Times to be aware of a high number of cases affecting people in Macau, including herself.

Concurrently, she noted that in some cases, banking institutions are requesting account users to provide information such as family certificates and other documents not in the TNRs’ possession, potentially forcing them to travel to their home country to solve this issue.

In Hong Kong, several cases have been reported of people who suddenly needed to resort to their savings due to health-related matters and found out that their assets had been frozen and were not available to be used, causing even more complex problems.

Wariyanti explained that as many of the TNRs in Macau and Hong Kong use these Indonesian bank accounts to deposit and keep their savings, these accounts have a low usage, which is why the measure targeted so many overseas workers.

According to what the Times could ascertain with the Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI) branch in Hong Kong, lately, there has been an enormous movement of people at the bank in an attempt to unfreeze their accounts.

According to the Indonesian media, the Financial Services Authority (OJK) has recently announced plans to review dormant bank account regulations “to ensure financial system stability and provide legal certainty for both banks and customers,” Indonesia Business Post reported.

The outlet noted that OJK’s Chief Executive of Banking Supervision, Dian Ediana Rae, said over the weekend that the agency will establish standardized treatment of dormant accounts, referring to international best practices.

“We will set the same rights and obligations for banks in providing services to their customers,” Dian said in Jakarta on Saturday.

According to Dian, the policy has generated different interpretations from different institutions, ultimately resulting in the issue.

He stressed that OJK is committed to crafting policies with a long-term perspective to ensure financial stability while supporting the government’s goals.

“We need to read the situation to ensure the government’s objectives are achieved and financial stability remains intact,” Dian said.

Concurrently, PPATK spokesman Natsir Kongah said President Prabowo expressed his support for the measures in the meeting.

“The President supports measures taken to safeguard the public’s bank accounts from criminal acts,” Natsir said.

PPATK reported that freezing dormant accounts has effectively reduced online gambling deposits by 70%, from Rp5 trillion at the start of the year to Rp1 trillion in June 2025.

Transaction frequency also plummeted from 33 million in April to 2.7 million in June 2025, but it is not specified which type of transactions fell the most.

One of the direct consequences of the freezing of millions of accounts was the inability of overseas workers to send remittances, which affected not only the sender but also the lives of those who, back home, expected this form of income.

‘measure’ violates

citizens’ rights

Heard also by Business Post, Nailul Huda, an economist at the Center of Economic and Law Studies (Celios), argued that freezing dormant accounts without customers’ consent violates their rights.

“Account freezing or closure must have the account owner’s consent. Without it, PPATK’s actions are illegal,” he remarked.

Nailul’s opinion is backed by Didik Rachbini, a senior economist and Paramadina University Rector, who said that PPATK’s actions overstepped its mandate.

According to Law No. 8/2010 on the Prevention and Eradication of Money Laundering, PPATK only has the authority to analyze and recommend actions, not block accounts directly.

To ease public outcry, PPATK has assured that customers’ funds are not lost, noting that the accounts are only temporarily frozen for verification purposes and that the procedure will not last too long.

“It won’t last long. This is a preventive measure, and it has proven effective in sharply reducing potential abuses,” Ivan said.

Under the laws that govern Indonesia’s financial sector, the OJK has the authority to block accounts with suspicious transactions.

When questioned on the topic, Dian reiterated that OJK is taking firm but fair measures to respect customers’ rights.

“We will ensure any solution provides a win-win outcome for all parties,” he said.

Not quick or straightforward process

According to the Times investigation on the case with BNI in Hong Kong, the procedure is not as simple as it seems and requires documentation and the filling of a large number of forms that are delivered at the bank branch, but that later will be forwarded to the OJK and PPATK.

According to BNI tellers, “if the request for unfreezing the account is successful, it might take some 20 working days.”

In some cases, if any documentation is missing or incomplete, the process can be voided, and the user needs to restart it from the beginning. In more extreme cases, it might be necessary for the users to go in person to the branch where the account was originally opened, a situation that carries high costs and work implications.

Wariyanti noted that many workers are concerned because they cannot make remittances to their families and cannot take time from their work to fly home just to solve the banking issue.

“We have very few annual leave days. It’s a huge problem if we cannot solve this problem without having to go back to Indonesia,” she said, noting that several people have failed to solve the issue in Hong Kong.

The representative of IMWU has said that, for the time being, the group is alerting the Indonesian TNRs in Macau to check if their bank accounts have been affected and be aware of this issue. She also claims that information on effectively solving the matter is unclear.

Economic impacts

yet to be addressed

According to the World Bank Group, in 2024, the number of registered placements of Indonesian migrant workers reached 297,434, surpassing the previous year’s figures.

Indonesia also saw a significant remittance increase, totaling USD15 billion or 1.1% of the Gross Domestic Product.

Families’ economies, particularly in rural areas, are perceived to suffer an even bigger impact, but the real extent has yet to be addressed.