In short. Notes: 100,000 is red, 50,000 is blue, 20,000 is green, 10,000 is purple. Prices are often said in thousands. Change money only at a money changer licensed by Bank Indonesia (a Kupva Berizin sign with a QR code), work out the amount beforehand and count the notes at the counter. Withdraw cash at ATMs of large banks inside branches and minimarkets, always in rupiah. Foreign Visa and Mastercard cards work everywhere, UnionPay not everywhere. You can also pay with the GoPay wallet by QR code. Do not send money in advance to strangers from a chat and do not give out codes from SMS.
Rupiah and the zeros. Rupiah have many zeros, and at first you will mix up ten thousand with a hundred thousand. Remember the note colours: 100,000 is red, 50,000 is blue, 20,000 is green, 10,000 is purple. Locals often say prices in thousands: "lima puluh" (fifty) means 50,000. Check the rupiah rate against the dollar on the day you exchange, because it changes.
Money changers. Change money only where there is a Bank Indonesia licence. A licensed money changer has a sign at the entrance with words like "Kupva Berizin" or "Authorized Money Changer". According to an Antara report, quoting a Bank Indonesia representative, the sign has a QR code in the bottom right corner and a number at the bottom, and the licence certificate hangs inside the office. You can check the name in the register of licensed entities on the Bank Indonesia site: choose the category "Kegiatan Usaha Penukaran Valuta Asing". The rate is written on a board inside, the amount is calculated on a calculator in front of you and you get a receipt. The most attractive rate on a board by the road in Kuta usually means that you will be shortchanged when the notes are counted. Do three things at a money changer:
- Step 1. Work out yourself how much you should get before you hand over the dollars. Your phone has a calculator.
- Step 2. Count the rupiah at the counter without stepping away: note by note, slowly, without letting anyone "help". Once you have walked away, complaints are not accepted.
- Step 3. Take the receipt and look at the cameras. A decent money changer gives a receipt and does not object to a camera on the wall. If they ask you to put your phone away, leave.
ATMs. Withdraw money at ATMs of large banks such as BCA, Mandiri, BNI, BRI and CIMB, inside a branch or a minimarket. Skip street ATMs without a guard. A "100.000" sticker means the ATM dispenses notes of one hundred thousand, and it gives out more per transaction than an ATM with fifty-thousand notes. The ATM will ask whether to charge the amount in rupiah or in your currency: always choose rupiah and do not accept the ATM's conversion, it costs more. ATMs return the card and the money in a different order: some give the card first, others the money first, and a person with a stack of cash in hand walks away, leaving the card in the slot. Do not step away from the ATM until the card is in your wallet and the money is in your pocket.
Which cards work. In short, by type:
- Visa and Mastercard work in ATMs, shops, Grab, Gojek and on the sites for visa applications and the tourist levy.
- UnionPay is not accepted everywhere. It is fine as a spare card.
If you do not need cash. You can pay in Indonesia with a wallet by QR code. GoPay is one of the common wallets. More in the guide on QRIS payments.
Where people make mistakes with money. Six common slips:
- They change money with strangers from a chat "at a good rate" and transfer first, after which the other person disappears the same minute. Do any exchange with a person from a chat only in person or through a service that has a name, a website and reviews.
- They enter a code from SMS on a site sent to them in a private message. This is how Telegram accounts and wallets are hijacked. Enter a code only in the app that requested it.
- They carry all their cash with them and pay in cafes from the stack. Phones and wallets in the hand on a scooter are snatched on the move in Canggu and Seminyak.
- They pay in dollars where the price is in rupiah: the seller sets the conversion rate.
- They forget the card in the ATM when it comes out in a different order from the one you are used to at home.
- They change the whole amount at the airport. We advise taking cash for the first days from an ATM of a large bank, as explained in the guide on arrival.
Need rupiah without hunting for a money changer or an ATM? Message @buzz_ex.
What this means for you. For the first days take cash or a card that works abroad. Change money at a licensed money changer and count the notes at the counter, withdraw at ATMs of large banks and always in rupiah, and do not step away from the ATM until the card is in your wallet. Never give anyone a code from SMS or money in advance if they are strangers from a chat.