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Comment by LatteLazy | Hacker News Reader

Did I misunderstand the article? I thought it said you were REQUIRED to have a certificate in order to operate...

Edit:

For most Sharia fintech startups, MUI certificates are not only commercially advantageous but legally required by the Financial Services Authority of Indonesia (OJK), the state financial regulator. Other areas of the Sharia digital economy, like halal e-commerce and umrah sites, travel-booking platforms for Islamic pilgrimages, do not require this certificate.

So yes for fintech, maybe for ecommerce in general?

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Conventional banking and finance remains the bulk of activity within the country and I do not believe this announcement is declaring conventional products banned from the market at large. Rather I think this requirement only applies to a small section of the Indonesia financial industry, approximately 10% of the market.

https://www.ojk.go.id/en/berita-dan-kegiatan/siaran-pers/Pag...

Participating in the Indonesian sharia finance economy would be more akin to something like organic certification on produce. Most farms are not organic but if you want to label your products as such then you have to undergo a certification process with an agency like the USDA. In this case to be certified Halal you have to gain the MUI certificate which is recognized by the OJK Financial Services Authority of Indonesian. However, an Indonesian person is likely better person to clarify this more precisely.

But it applies to all of the fintech sector right? You cannot start or operate a fintech without religious permission? And by extension, forcing customers to buy products they don't actually want (sharia when they want non sharia).

I don't believe it's a blanket requirement, it's rather that if you want to market your product as being Halal then you have to get certification. Perhaps have a look at lemparin2020's comment https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24518270 who appears to be an actual Indonesian who is more familiar with the article's subject matter. lemaprin2020 says:

>>Well obviously. If you want to build a halal certified banking product it has to be implement syariah principles, thats the point.

The article explicitly states it is a requirement. If you want to build a non halal certified product... You can't.

I see that you are determined to take that away from the article even if it is incorrect.

> For most Sharia fintech startups, MUI certificates are... legally required

Nowhere does it say that most fintech startups, let alone most finance, are are seeking that classification.

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