Mastercard & CLIK team up to boost Indonesian credit

Mastercard has entered a strategic collaboration with CLIK Credit Bureau Indonesia to provide consulting services to card issuers and other financial institutions, as lenders seek stronger credit decisioning and tighter portfolio management.

The agreement combines CLIK's credit bureau data with Mastercard's advisory work on credit risk and underwriting. The work will focus on underwriting decisions, portfolio growth and collections.

Indonesia's lending market is shifting quickly as consumers and businesses move to digital channels and demand for credit rises. Small businesses are a growing part of that story, both as borrowers and as a policy focus for widening access to finance.

Indonesia has around 65.5 million micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that employ 119 million people. The Indonesian Central Bureau of Statistics says these businesses account for more than 61% of the national gross domestic product. Lenders and policymakers have long flagged access to finance as a constraint on the sector's growth.

The International Monetary Fund's 2026 Article IV report says Indonesian MSMEs face higher borrowing costs and more complex loan application processes than their peers in other economies. That backdrop is pushing banks and other providers to reduce friction while keeping tighter control of defaults and losses.

Data and models

CLIK said it provides extended credit histories, predictive scoring and repayment insights that go beyond the data available from official sources in Indonesia. Such data typically covers more accounts over a longer period and can add behavioural signals based on repayment patterns.

Mastercard's advisors will use those signals to shape recommendations on lending strategy and credit risk. The work centres on data-driven intelligence, with an emphasis on responsible credit expansion alongside portfolio health.

In consumer credit, underwriting and line management have become more sensitive as issuers compete for new accounts and regulators and investors scrutinise credit quality. Sharper risk segmentation can affect approval rates, credit limits and early identification of stress. Collections is another lever, as delinquency management directly affects losses and operating costs.

The partnership positions these issues as shared needs across the ecosystem. It also reflects a broader trend of payments networks and data providers pairing advisory services with transaction and acceptance products.

Local bureau

CLIK Credit Bureau is an affiliate of Italy-based CRIF, which provides credit bureau and business information services in multiple markets. In Indonesia, private credit bureaux sit alongside state-linked or official data sources. Lenders often blend bureau data with internal transaction histories and alternative data to build scorecards and decision models.

The collaboration will offer consulting services to card issuers and financial institutions across Indonesia, suggesting work across unsecured lending as well as other retail or SME products where bureau coverage and repayment signals are relevant.

Lucky Herviana, Chief Digital Transformation Officer at CLIK Credit Bureau, said the work will focus on credit risk consulting for lenders nationwide.

"We are pleased to support the advancement of Indonesia's financial ecosystem through this strategic collaboration with Mastercard, which will enable the delivery of advanced credit risk consulting services for card issuers and financial institutions nationwide. Leveraging our deep expertise in credit scoring development and the breadth of our national credit data, this collaboration is poised to deliver effective solutions for institutions seeking to align business growth targets with prudent risk management-unlocking promising opportunities built on a healthy and well-managed credit portfolio," said Herviana.

Regional reference points

Mastercard pointed to results from similar programmes elsewhere in the region, saying they helped financial institutions reach approval rates of up to 45% for credit cards and 30% for personal financing. It added that profitability was realised in around 24 months and 12 months, respectively.

Such metrics are closely watched in high-growth markets, where acquisition and risk costs can rise quickly if underwriting is not calibrated to economic conditions. Time to profitability also matters for issuers that pay marketing and onboarding costs upfront and recover them over time through interest income and fees.

Matthew Driver, Executive Vice President and Head of Services for Asia Pacific at Mastercard, said the partnership is focused on cross-ecosystem collaboration and decisioning.

"Expanding access to responsible credit requires strong collaboration across the ecosystem. By bringing together Mastercard's global expertise in data-driven decisioning and risk management with CLIK's deep local credit insights, we are enabling financial institutions make smarter decisions and grow in a sustainable way," said Driver.

The work is aimed at issuers and other lenders seeking to expand credit access while keeping tighter control of credit risk and collections outcomes in Indonesia.