In short. The money in a blocked account stays yours: neither the bank nor PPATK can take it, and both OJK and PPATK say so directly. There are five reasons for a block for a foreigner in Bali. First, a wrong PIN three times in a row (lifted in the app or at a branch with your passport). Second, an account with no transactions for more than 360 days becomes inactive, and after more than 1,800 days dormant (withdrawals are disabled and you need reactivation). Third, a temporary PPATK freeze on dormant accounts (a statement on the PPATK site plus a visit to the bank, no longer than 5 working days, extendable to 15). Fourth, an expired KITAS or outdated data (the bank must keep the client's valid documents, so bring the new KITAS). Fifth, suspicion of fraud or a request from the authorities (only through the branch, sometimes through the police). In every case the first step is the same: the branch of the bank where the account is open, with your passport, KITAS and the phone the account is registered to.
Why they block at all. Indonesian banks work under OJK anti-money-laundering rules (POJK 8/2023, APU PPT): the bank must know its client, keep the data current and not run an account if it cannot confirm identity. For a foreigner this means the account is tied to a passport, KITAS and phone number, and the bank wants to see any change in them. The second rule, POJK 24/2025 on account management, has since November 2025 described what happens to accounts with no activity. The third participant, PPATK, is the financial intelligence unit: it can temporarily freeze transactions on accounts, and in 2025 it did so en masse for dormant accounts. Each reason is covered separately below.
A wrong PIN three times. The most common and simplest. According to BCA's help page the card is blocked after several wrong PIN entries at an ATM or a terminal; at Bank Mandiri a debit card is blocked automatically after three errors. What to do: at BCA call Halo BCA 1500888 or come to a branch with your passport, which is what foreigners need; a BCA debit card blocked after three wrong PINs can be unblocked in the haloBCA app, in the item "Buka Blokir Fasilitas". At Mandiri some cards are unblocked in the Livin' app, the rest at a branch with an application and the original document. If you have forgotten the PIN completely, it can be changed only at a branch.
Inactive and dormant account. Under the OJK rule POJK 24/2025, an account with no top-up, withdrawal or balance check for more than 360 days becomes inactive, and after more than 1,800 days dormant. For such accounts the bank disables withdrawals, including autopayments: for electricity, a loan, subscriptions. The bank still cannot take the money, only system items such as the maintenance fee and tax on interest. The bank must show the account status in the app and offer reactivation through its channels. What to do: open the app and look at the status; if the account is inactive, reactivate it online where the bank allows it, or at a branch with your passport and KITAS. To avoid getting there: every few months make any transaction or simply check the balance in the app, which according to the OJK FAQ is enough for the account to count as active.
A PPATK freeze. In May 2025 PPATK temporarily froze transactions on dormant accounts across the country to check whether the owners are alive and know about the account, and from August it instructed banks to lift the freezes: by its figures, more than 100 million accounts went back into operation. If you were caught by such a freeze, the procedure under PPATK's news of 4 July 2025 is:
- Fill in the objection form on the PPATK site (form.ppatk.go.id).
- Come to the branch of the bank where the account is open with a document, the passbook or card and confirmation that the form is filled in; the bank will re-verify the client.
- The bank reactivates the account. The freeze lasts no longer than 5 working days, and PPATK may extend it by no more than 15 more working days.
PPATK contacts from the same news: WhatsApp 0821-1212-0195, email [email protected]. For a foreigner, instead of a KTP you need a passport and KITAS; this is the bank's rule on client documents.
An expired KITAS or a changed number. An account for a foreigner is opened on a passport and KITAS, whose validity the bank records in its system. When the KITAS ends, many banks put the account into a restricted mode until the data is updated: under the APU PPT rules a bank cannot keep a client with an invalid document. The same goes for the phone number: SMS codes and app login are tied to the number, and a new SIM without updating it at the bank leaves you without the app. What to do: after extending your KITAS go to the branch with the new KITAS and your passport and update the data, and likewise when you change your number. How to open an account and which documents the bank keeps on file is in the guide to a bank account.
Suspicious transactions, an authorities' request, a court dispute. A bank may freeze an account on signs of fraud, for example if atypical debits started from the card or money arrived in the account from a victim of fraud who filed a complaint. In 2024–2025 OJK ordered banks to block accounts involved in online casinos, and under the APU PPT rules money from terrorist lists is frozen without notice. Mandiri separately names accounts in a court dispute, including inheritance ones. From chats, such stories come after a P2P exchange: someone sold USDT, received rupiah from an unknown buyer, and the money turned out to be stolen. What to do: only the branch, with your passport, KITAS, a statement of the transaction and the correspondence on the deal; if the block is at the request of the police, the bank will send you to them. How not to receive stolen rupiah in an exchange is in the guide to USDT.
What to take to the branch. Passport, KITAS, the card and passbook if you have them, the phone with the SIM the account is registered to, and a statement or screenshot of the transaction that caused the block. Go to the branch where you opened the account, or to any large one in your city if the bank allows it; at a branch a foreigner is often asked to show a valid visa as well. Speak English, and a few words of Indonesian help: "rekening diblokir" (account blocked), "buka blokir" (lift the block), "aktifkan kembali" (reactivate), "perbarui data" (update data).
While the account is closed. You can pay in Bali with GoPay and by QRIS, and a wallet can be set up on a foreign number, as in the guide to GoPay; cash from a foreign card at an ATM is in the guide to rupiah and ATMs. Autopayments from a blocked account do not go through: pay for electricity by token and for rent another way, so you do not end up without light.
Our advice. Every two or three months open the bank's app and check the balance; this keeps the account active. If you extended your KITAS or changed your number, update the data at the bank that same month. And do not accept rupiah from strangers into your account: this is the shortest road to a block that the branch cannot fix.
What this means for you. A block is a check, and the money stays yours: they are checking the PIN, the account's activity, the documents or the origin of the money. Three of the five reasons are lifted by one visit to the branch with your passport and KITAS, an inactive account is reactivated, and a PPATK freeze passes within a week on application. Keep your KITAS and phone number at the bank up to date, and it will not come to blocks.