Citibank Indonesia
| Company type | Subsidiary |
|---|---|
| Industry | Banking, Financial services |
| Founded | June 14, 1968 in Jakarta, Indonesia |
| Headquarters | Jakarta , Indonesia |
| Products | ATMs, Credit cards, Digital banking (CitiMobile app), Wealth management |
Number of employees | 15 |
| Parent | Citigroup (until 2023), United Overseas Bank (from 2023) |
Citibank Indonesia represented the Indonesian branch of Citigroup until its acquisition by United Overseas Bank in November 2023.
History
Citibank Indonesia commenced its operations on June 14, 1968, starting with a team of 15 employees based at Hotel Indonesia. The bank was a trailblazer in Indonesia’s financial sector, being the first to introduce ATMs in 1986, followed by the launch of credit card services in 1989, and the establishment of CitiPhone—a round-the-clock customer support system—in 1993. To further advance digital banking, it rolled out the CitiMobile application in 2013.
In 2023, United Overseas Bank expanded its presence in Southeast Asia by acquiring Citibank’s consumer business units in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
Legal issues
In 2011, Citibank Indonesia encountered major legal difficulties after a senior manager within its wealth management division was apprehended for misappropriating $1.9 million belonging to clients. Following this event, Bank Indonesia imposed restrictions that prevented the bank from onboarding new wealth management clients and issuing credit cards to new applicants.
That same year, the passing of a debtor linked to Citibank’s credit card collection department prompted additional investigations. Although the court determined the cause of death was natural, related to hypertension, three debt collectors received convictions for unlawfully detaining the debtor, which contributed to his demise.
As a consequence of these incidents, Bank Indonesia enforced several sanctions starting May 2011: a two-year ban on issuing credit cards to new customers; a one-year prohibition on accepting new premium wealth management clients; a two-year restriction on employing third-party debt collectors; and a one-year halt on opening new branches. Executives involved were required to undergo fit-and-proper assessments. In response, Citibank recruited 1,400 internal debt collection personnel to replace outsourced agents.
