Inside Indonesia's Notorious Debt Collecting Industry

Many Indonesians fear a visit from debt collectors, as rumors about violence are rampant. But many don't actually know what goes on in this shadow industry, which much of the modern banking system in the nation relies on.

Debt collecting in Indonesia is mostly run by people from the hard-to-reach East of the country, hailing from a set of islands called Maluku. Often discriminated against for their locally-perceived ""scary"" looks and darker skin, many young Eastern Indonesians eventually turn to debt collecting after being denied other work.

Debt collecting gets its bad rap from the cowboy years of the 80's, when the industry was mostly unregulated and violence was rampant. After President Suharto's New Order era, banking regulations were instated and the industry became professional. But for many Eastern Indonesians working in the industry, the stigma of violence and crime sticks to them to this very day. We meet with some of the biggest players in the industry and find out what really goes on when you're late on your loan payments.

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