Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (OJK) issued amended pawnshop regulations to streamline licensing and adjust supervisory and operational requirements, with a focus on making it easier for district and city level pawnshop businesses to obtain authorisation while maintaining prudent governance and risk management. Key changes include simplified business licence requirements for pawnshop operators already operating without an OJK licence within a regency or city scope, revised rules on concurrent positions for appraisers, and easing lending administration by allowing adjustments where historical debtor data is not material. The amendments also add a framework for opening overseas branches for nationally scoped pawnshop companies, adjust the transition period for meeting minimum equity and the equity-to-paid-up-capital ratio, simplify documentation for ownership changes that do not alter the controlling shareholder, accelerate the timeframe for OJK recommendations in the securities listing issuance process, and simplify the use of alternative contracts for sharia-based activities. Additional provisions cover support for new sharia pawnshop companies formed through the spin-off of a conventional pawnshop’s sharia business unit, expanded funding sources for sharia pawnshop companies including from parties conducting conventional business, and expanded cooperation structures between conventional pawnshops and sharia financial institutions through joint financing. The regulation took effect upon promulgation on 26 November 2025. OJK also urged pawn businesses that operated before the enactment of Law No. 4/2023 on Financial Sector Development and Strengthening and are not yet licensed to submit authorisation applications through the relevant OJK office by 12 January 2026.

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