Economy

Civil Servant Salaries via Kopdes? Ministry Clarifies

Stateline MEDIA Newsroom•October 20, 2026•4 min read

Proposals to route civil servant pay through rural cooperatives spark debate. As the Ministry clarifies no decision is final, banks warn of risks.

Key Facts

Menteri Koperasi Ferry Juliantono (14/10/2026): pemerintah akan mengalihkan penyaluran gaji ASN melalui Koperasi Desa/Kelurahan Merah Putih (Kopdes); pengajuan sudah disampaikan ke Kementerian Keuangan; waktu realisasi belum dipastikan.
Sekretaris Kemenkop Ahmad Zabadi: hingga kini belum ada keputusan resmi pemerintah; yang diupayakan adalah menjadikan koperasi sebagai mitra pembayaran gaji pensiunan seperti PT Pos dan bank — bukan menggantikan peran perbankan maupun BPD.
Ketua Umum Asbanda Agus H. Widodo (15/10/2026): meminta pengelolaan payroll ASN daerah tetap di Bank Pembangunan Daerah (BPD); BPD selama ini menjadi mitra strategis pemerintah daerah.
Ekonom CORE Indonesia Akhmad Akbar Susamto: tiga risiko pengalihan — sistem Kopdes belum kredibel sehingga gaji PNS berpotensi telat dibayar, kondisi BPD bisa makin bermasalah, dan risiko terhadap keuangan ASN.
Wakil Menteri Dalam Negeri Bima Arya: sistem penggajian saat ini melalui Himbara dan BPD sudah berjalan baik; rencana peralihan perlu dikaji secara mendalam dan hati-hati.
Bank Pembangunan Daerah tercatat memiliki dana pihak ketiga (DPK) Rp770 triliun dan penyaluran kredit Rp673 triliun — taruhannya besar bila payroll ASN dipindahkan.

Minister's Plan: Civil Servant Salaries via Kopdes

Minister of Cooperatives Ferry Juliantono confirmed that the government plans to shift the disbursement of salaries for state civil apparatus (ASN - Aparatur Sipil Negara) through the Merah Putih Village/Sub-district Cooperatives (Kopdes - Koperasi Desa). Ferry made the statement following a limited coordination meeting (rakortas) on Kopdes in Jakarta, Wednesday (14/10/2026).

According to Ferry, the submission process has been forwarded to the Ministry of Finance (Kemenkeu), and the payment mechanism is claimed to be ready. 'It has been submitted to the Ministry of Finance. It will be ready for disbursement,' Ferry said. Currently, ASN salaries are distributed via state-owned bank association (Himbara - Himpunan Bank Milik Negara) banks, PT Pos Indonesia, and Regional Development Banks (BPD - Bank Pembangunan Daerah). However, the government cannot yet confirm when the transition will commence.

Cooperatives Ministry: No Official Decision Yet

Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives (Kemenkop) Ahmad Zabadi clarified that there is currently no official government decision regarding the involvement of Kopdes in distributing salaries or pensions for civil servants. The circulating information, he explained, originated from government efforts to expand cooperative services to make them more modern and professional.

According to Zabadi, current initiatives focus on positioning cooperatives as payment partners for pensioner salaries—on equal footing with PT Pos Indonesia and commercial banks—rather than replacing the role of banks or BPDs. Cooperatives are projected to serve as alternative financial service channels and as part of a cooperative transformation to boost competitiveness.

Asbanda and Economists Express Concern

The proposal has met with pushback. The Association of Regional Development Banks (Asbanda - Asosiasi Bank Pembangunan Daerah) urged that the payroll management for regional ASN remain with BPDs. Asbanda Chairman Agus H. Widodo emphasized that BPDs have long served as strategic partners for local governments and an integrated part of regional financial ecosystems, including payroll services for ASN and government employees with work agreements (PPPK - Pegawai Pemerintah dengan Perjanjian Kerja).

Economist Akhmad Akbar Susamto of the Center of Reform on Economics (CORE) Indonesia highlighted three risks if civil servant (PNS - Pegawai Negeri Sipil) salaries are rerouted through Kopdes. First, Kopdes lacks a proven, credible system, raising the risk of payment delays. 'If the Kopdes system fails, PNS salaries will be delayed,' Akhmad noted. Second, the financial health of BPDs could worsen, as a key source of their liquidity stems from local civil servant pay. Third, there are risks to the financial stability of the civil servants themselves. Another CORE economist, Yusuf Rendy Manilet, stressed the necessity of distinguishing between using cooperatives merely as a distribution channel versus redirecting salary deposits straight into cooperative accounts.

Deputy Home Minister: Current System Functions Well

Deputy Minister of Home Affairs (Wamendagri) Bima Arya questioned the operational readiness of Kopdes, noting it remains suboptimal. According to Bima, the current state employee payroll system—operating through Himbara and BPDs—is running smoothly, meaning any transition plan must be examined thoroughly and prudently because it directly impacts 'the livelihood of all civil servants.'

The stakes are significant. BPDs hold Rp770 trillion in third-party funds (DPK - Dana Pihak Ketiga) and Rp673 trillion in outstanding loans. To date, there remains no certainty as to when—or whether—the plan to reroute ASN salaries to Kopdes Merah Putih will actually materialize.