Bali’s Aussie ‘millionaires’ a thing of the past as Indonesia works toward currency redenomination
One of the biggest innovations, and sometimes one of the biggest headaches, for tourists traveling to Indonesia will literally be shortchanged.
Australians have long felt like instant millionaires after landing in Bali, or any of the other idyllic island destinations, and swapping their dollars for large wads of cash, spending hundreds of thousands of rupiah on a meal.
The Rupiah offers 1,000 as the smallest banknote, but the Indonesian Government is in the process of redefining the currency, which means dropping three zeros from these banknotes and redefining their value.
The renaming will likely come into full effect by 2027, and by 2026 tourists will be paying millions for everyday items last year.
In the simplest terms, 1,000 IDR will become 1 IDR, a 100,000 IDR note will become only 100 IDR, and so on, with the purchasing power and value of the rupee remaining the same.
This move has been anticipated for many years, with economic leaders, government officials and the public advocating for such simplification.
But the idea came into focus in 2023, when Bank Indonesia’s Governor Perry Warkiyo confirmed that the central bank was ready to support the transition. Bali Sun.
One of the biggest positives of the change will be the elimination of the obvious confusion over cash amounts at points of sale across Indonesia, as well as scams and scammers using large amounts to prey on customers.
The confusion is often taken advantage of by money exchange scammers, who have a well-established fraud system across Indonesia and especially in Bali.
Bali tourists regularly get caught in a foreign exchange scam when they present the money they want to exchange.
The teller then calculates the exchange and counts out the notes, often dozens of them, in front of the customer, clearly stating the correct exchange for the tourist to see.
The teller then gathers the money back together and, using sleight of hand, transfers as many notes as possible from the desktop to the table below; while most of the time the tourist is busy or signing the foreign exchange receipt.
Tourists are asked to double-check the amount of money given to them in the last transaction before leaving the table.
