Is ShopeePay a Safe Place to Store Money?
Many people are starting to abandon the old ways of managing their daily finances. Wallets are getting thinner, ATM cards are used less frequently, and almost all payments can now be made simply by scanning a barcode. However, these new habits also raise a big question: is it safe to store money in a digital wallet like ShopeePay, especially if it's used for daily expenses?
Interestingly, this question often arises not because the system itself is questionable, but because of the numerous stories circulating about hacked accounts, lost balances, and mysterious transactions. However, to understand ShopeePay's security, we must look at it from a broader context: how the electronic money system works, how regulations govern it, and how significant a role users play in maintaining account security. This article will discuss this in detail, without immediately providing the main answer, so readers can understand the system's operation thoroughly before drawing conclusions.
How Does ShopeePay Save Money?
Before discussing whether it's safe or not, we need to understand the basic concept of a digital wallet. ShopeePay doesn't physically store money in its app. Your ShopeePay balance is a digital representation of the money held in an escrow account. This means:
- Your balance is secured in a partner bank.
- ShopeePay only acts as an intermediary for transaction services.
With this structure, security protection depends not only on the Shopee application, but also on the banking system that holds the funds.
Why Are There Cases of People Losing Their Balance?
While browsing the internet or on social media, many people report that their balances have suddenly decreased. However, when analyzed, most cases are not due to a ShopeePay system failure, but rather due to:
- Users unknowingly provide OTP codes to unknown people.
- Clicking on a fake link that leads to a phishing site.
- Entering Shopee account into unofficial application.
- Using the same password for multiple accounts.
- Tempted by fraudulent schemes such as sweepstakes, fake prizes, or cheap top-ups.
In other words, the application system is rarely the culprit. The vulnerability is often a lack of user awareness.
Is ShopeePay supervised by the government?
This is a very important point.
ShopeePay officially operates as an electronic money service supervised by Bank Indonesia . With ShopeePay's official registration:
- Every transaction is monitored by the regulator.
- Security systems must meet strict standards.
- User funds should not be mixed with company funds.
However, it's important to understand that, like other digital wallets, ShopeePay balances are not guaranteed by the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS ). This means that ShopeePay is more suited for transactions, not long-term savings.
Is ShopeePay Suitable for Saving Money?
The answer isn't as simple as "safe" or "unsafe." You need to consider your own needs and personality. ShopeePay is suitable for:
- Save small change that is often used.
- Daily payments such as food, shipping, vouchers, or credit.
- The need for fast and practical transactions.
- Usage without monthly admin fees.
ShopeePay is highly liquid because funds can be used immediately at any time without waiting for the disbursement process or queues like some investment instruments.
However, for storing large amounts of money, digital wallets like ShopeePay are not the best choice.
Alternatives If You Want to Save Money and Earn Interest
If you want to save larger amounts of money, there are alternatives that are still within the Shopee ecosystem, namely:
- SeaBank
SeaBank pays daily interest directly into your balance, making it suitable for storing larger funds. Because it's part of the Shopee group, integration between SeaBank and ShopeePay is seamless, especially for top-ups and withdrawals. The banking system is also supervised by the Financial Services Authority (OJK), and balances are guaranteed by the Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS).
However, ShopeePay still excels in terms of:
- There are no monthly admin fees.
- Very fast payment process.
- Suitable for small savings that need to be used frequently.
ShopeePay Has a Balance Limit
Every digital wallet has a limit to prevent users from using the app as a place to save large sums. For ShopeePay:
- Maximum balance limit of IDR 10,000,000
- Annual transaction limit of IDR 20,000,000 for unverified accounts, higher for KTP verified accounts
Based on this limitation alone, we can conclude that ShopeePay isn't designed for storing tens of millions of rupiah. The app is specifically designed for fast and convenient daily transactions.
Security Factors: System vs User
ShopeePay has several layers of protection:
- transaction PIN
- OTP Code
- Mobile biometric verification
- Detect suspicious activity
- Real-time notifications for every transaction
However, without realizing it, the weak point of digital security is often not the system itself, but user habits. Common mistakes include:
- Give PIN or OTP to other people.
- Login to your Shopee account on your friend's phone and forget to log out.
- Telling personal data to fraudsters who pretend to be CS.
- Using an easy-to-guess password.
To be safe, follow these simple steps:
- Never give OTP to anyone.
- Enable face verification to open the app.
- Use a PIN that only you know.
- Don't click on suspicious links.
- Do not install applications outside the Play Store.
With this basic security alone, the risk of your account being hacked can be kept very low.
What is ShopeePay Suitable for?
Use ShopeePay to:
- Online shopping at Shopee
- Pay offline merchants who accept QRIS
- Pay for electricity, phone credit, PDAM
- Fast transfers to friends or family
- Save small change to make daily payments more practical
ShopeePay is not ideal for:
- Saving emergency funds
- Save hundreds of millions of rupiah
- Become a long-term savings
For this function, it is safer to use a bank or SeaBank as an alternative in the Shopee ecosystem.
So, the conclusion...
ShopeePay is safe for storing small amounts of money and everyday transactions, as long as users maintain their PIN and OTP properly. This application is supervised by Bank Indonesia, but is not guaranteed by the LPS (Lembaga Pension Deposit Insurance Corporation), so it's not recommended for large deposits. If you want to save more money and earn interest, SeaBank might be a better choice, as it's part of the Shopee ecosystem. You can find additional information on this topic on ajakteman.com, mentioned at the end of this article.