Kamala Thiagarajan

Opinion | Indonesians going into debt for Blackpink, Coldplay tickets shows dark side of fintech revolution

Indonesia’s rising prominence in the global music scene is encouraging, but reports of people going into debt to buy concert tickets is reason for concern

Online lending has made it easier for people to access loans but also exposed them to scams and the excesses that come with flaunting new-found wealth

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People use their smartphones while walking through Jakarta’s central business district on June 30, 2022. The digital and fintech revolution in Indonesia has allowed more people access to finance but also led to a rise in reckless spending and accumulated debt through online lending. Photo: Getty Images

Kamala Thiagarajan

Published: 8:15am, 14 Jul 2023

In mid-November last year, 70,000 people queued for hours to buy tickets to Born Pink, the popular girl band Blackpink’s world tour concert in Jakarta that took place in early March. The British band Coldplay recently announced in an Instagram post that all tickets for its upcoming Music of the Spheres world tour in Jakarta, scheduled for November, were sold out.

For music lovers in Indonesia, there is no doubt that this is a great time to enjoy international music, and not just because Blackpink and Coldplay are making stops in the country. Citing records from the Ministry of Finance, a report by MUC Consulting indicates the rise of music concert events in recent months have been so significant that they have helped boost local entertainment tax revenues.

In January and February, concertgoers generated an income of 28.85 trillion rupiah (US$1.9 billion), up from 23.6 trillion rupiah during the same time the previous year.

While this might seem like something to be celebrated, a Bloomberg report has exposed how some locals are resorting to online lending to get into these concerts, much to the alarm of the country’s financial regulator. The Financial Services Authority has warned Indonesians to stay away from “buy now, pay later” services just to purchase concert tickets.

There is a genuine cause for concern. The country’s outstanding loans through digital platforms totalled 51.5 trillion rupiah in May 2023, up a whopping 28 per cent from just a year ago, according to Bloomberg.

The regulator also warned against getting scammed by fake lending apps. Reports indicate that predatory loan apps are booming after the Covid-19 pandemic, exploiting people and capitalising on their economic hardships.