TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Indonesia is set to roll out SIM (subscriber identity module) card registration using facial biometric recognition starting July 1, 2026, as confirmed by the Digital Ecosystem DG at the Ministry of Communication and Digital (Komdigi), Edwin Hidayat Abdullah.
Consumers can purchase SIM cards at various offline stores or online shops. "You can purchase a phone number anywhere, either in a store or web-based (mobile operator)," Edwin said in a virtual press conference in Jakarta on Friday, May 29, 2026.
After getting their new SIM cards, consumers can activate the card through the mobile operator's application. The consumer then enters their National Identity Number (NIK).
"The next step differs for each mobile operator. Some use PUK (Personal Unlocking Key), some use numbers. After that, an OTP (One-Time Password) will be generated," he said.
After, consumers will be directed to complete face recognition, which will then be verified by the Directorate of Population and Civil Registration (Dukcapil). If the facial accuracy is 96 percent with the NIK identity, the verification process will be completed. "Then a notification will appear, showing that the verification is complete," Edwin said.
Edwin claimed that the registration process takes an average of less than 1 minute, based on trials conducted by Komdigi. "I have observed hundreds of processes across various regions starting from Jakarta, Java, Central Java, East Java, West Java, Sumatra, West Sumatra, Aceh, Kalimantan," he said, citing Yogyakarta as the region with shortest processing time.
Approximately 1.6 to 1.7 million users have used this technology since the trial began in January 2026. According to Edwin, three mobile operators have implemented the facial recognition system during the trial period, namely Telkomsel, Indosat, and XLSmart.
Based on consumer feedback, Edwin concluded that the biometric system proves to be a faster process than the manual SIM card registration.
"The registration process with facial recognition is not much different from the previous registration. On average, consumers complete the registration process in less than a minute," Edwin said.
Edwin said the biometric system also allows for users to trace misuse of NIK and KK by other registered numbers. If personal data abuse is detected, users are welcome to request deactivation.
In addition to biometric registration, the government has asked all mobile operators to provide an antiscam protection system to prevent digital fraud.
Based on data from the Indonesia Anti-Scam Centre (IASC), the value of digital fraud losses until April 2026 has reached Rp9.5 trillion across more than 548,000 reports.
"All mobile operators now have anti-scam devices. This is part of the mobile operator's business responsibility to protect its consumers," Edwin said.
He added that the three mobile operators are also asked to prepare a voluntary registration mechanism for numbers that have been active for a long time, allowing users to update and verify their data.
Biometric registration, he said, is part of the efforts to realize the constitutional mandate of citizen protection before achieving public welfare.
Read: Indonesia's Biometric Registration for New Phone Number Starts July 1
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