Indonesia Moves Toward Biometric SIM Registration as Telcos Await Full Regulation

JAKARTA, investortrust.id — Indonesia is entering a pivotal phase of its digital-security overhaul as major telecommunications operators prepare to adopt biometric verification for SIM registration, while the government simultaneously intensifies efforts to curb online gambling by blocking nearly 24,000 bank accounts linked to illegal transactions.

PT XLSmart Telecom Sejahtera Tbk or XCEL said on Wednesday, Nov 26, 2025 in Jakarta that it is ready to implement face recognition for new and existing SIM registrations in line with the upcoming policy from the Ministry of Communication and Digital. The company stressed that biometric data will not be stored on its servers and will be validated directly through Dukcapil.

Henry Wijayanto, Head of External Communications XLSmart, said the company supported the policy. “XLSmart on principle supports the adoption of facial recognition as part of efforts to enhance accuracy and security in customer registration and to combat spam or scam,” he said.

He added that all biometric data would only pass through XLSmart’s secure channels before being validated by the population registry. “XLSmart only receives data from potential customers and then forwards it securely to Dukcapil for validation,” Henry said, referring to Indonesia’s national civil-registry authority.

The authority, Directorate General of Population and Civil Registration, is under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It manages the country’s population database, including NIK numbers, family cards, birth and death records, biometric data, and all official identity verification services.

If the biometric verification for SIM registration implemented, customers will no longer need a family card number, only a national ID number and facial verification.

Other operators are preparing as well. Telkomsel, Indonesia's largest mobile operator and subsidiary of state-controlled PT Telkom Indonesia, or TLKM, had completed pilot testing for biometric registration early this year and was awaiting formal guidelines from the ministry. “We already conducted trials, even during Ramadan the Minister and our CEO tested it directly,” said Vice President Corporate Communications Saki Hamsat Bramono in May. “Now we are waiting for the government’s technical rules.”

Telkomsel noted that the system could eventually allow customer verification directly through smartphone cameras, depending on how the regulation is designed. “Whether customers can do biometric registration independently or must come to a service center depends entirely on the government’s rules,” Saki said.

Telkomsel demonstrates biometric testing equipment at TSO Jakarta, Monday, May 26, 2025. Photo: Telkomsel

Indosat Ooredoo Hutchison or ISAT has moved ahead with a live demonstration of biometric eSIM activation. At an event in Jakarta on Wednesday, Oct 15, 2025, the operator showcased self-registration using facial recognition that complies with international security standards and verifies identity against Dukcapil.

“The Ministry of Communication and Digital fully supports Indosat’s efforts to provide ease of digital access for the public,” said Director General of Digital Ecosystem Edwin Hidayat Abdullah. He added that capable and secure systems were essential to strengthen Indonesia’s telecommunications landscape.

Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer Indosat, Reski Damayanti, said the company placed customer protection at the center of the initiative. “We are ready to collaborate to ensure this policy is implemented optimally for customers and the industry,” she said.

These moves appear increasingly urgent as the government battles an escalating wave of online gambling activity, which relies heavily on illicit digital transactions and unverified phone numbers. On Tuesday, Oct 14, 2025, the Ministry of Communication and Digital and the Financial Services Authority confirmed that they had blocked 23,929 bank accounts tied to online gambling networks.

Director General of the Digital Ecosystem at the Ministry of Communication and Digital Affairs Edwin Hidayat Abdullah, accompanied by XLSmart Director & Chief Regulatory Officer Merza Fachys and ATSI Executive Director Marwan O Baasir, tests the biometric registration system at the XL Center, XLSmart Tower, Jakarta, Tuesday, Sep 29, 2025. Photo: Courtesy of XLSmart.

“We want to ensure the flow of funds from online gambling is completely cut off,” said Minister Meutya Hafid, stressing that the crackdown was based on cyber patrols and public reports.

But critics argue that flawed customer-verification systems helped enable the problem. ICT Institute Executive Director Heru Sutadi said on Thursday, Sept 25, 2025 that the government’s approach had not addressed the core issue. “The real actors should be hunted, arrested, and stripped of their assets,” he said. Heru warned that relying on NIK or biometrics could expose personal data to misuse by foreign digital platforms. “Do not try to solve a problem with another problem,” he cautioned.

The ministry maintains that its strategy includes both enforcement and ecosystem strengthening. It has summoned sixteen major platforms, including TikTok, Meta, and Google, to reinforce obligations in monitoring and blocking gambling content. “The goal is to keep Indonesia’s digital space clean, safe, healthy, and productive,” said Alexander Sabar, Director General of Digital Ecosystem Supervision.

Together, these developments demonstrate how biometric registration has become a cornerstone of Indonesia’s broader digital-security architecture. With telcos preparing for rollout, regulators tightening enforcement, and public pressure mounting over data protection, the convergence of these issues signals deeper structural reforms ahead in digital identity, telecommunications policy, and cybercrime prevention.