Indonesia and Bali Currency

What Money Is Used in Indonesia and Bali

The country's currency is the Indonesian rupiah (Indonesia Rupiah, currency code IDR). On price tags, banknotes, and coins, it's denoted as Rp. All official transactions are conducted in local currency; foreign currency may only be accepted privately by agreement.

• 1 Indonesian rupiah = 100 sen (no longer in use)
• International designation: IDR, domestically – Rp.
• Banknote denominations in circulation: 1000, 5000, 10,000, 20,000, 50,000, and 100,000 rupiah.
• Coin denominations in circulation: 500, 100. There are also 50, 25, and 10 rupiah coins, but they are no longer seen in practice.

Although due to sanctions, tourists and travelers from Russia are deprived of some convenient ways to exchange rubles for rupiah, there are actually no major problems with this. We know of at least the following ways to pay and convert:

• Exchange of cash dollars, euros, yuan, or other internationally convertible currencies into cash rupiah.
• Foreign bank card or Unionpay card from Russian banks Rosselkhozbank or ATB – for payments in stores and cash withdrawals from ATMs.
• Local e-wallet (we recommend GoPay) topped up from rubles via crypto exchange and USDT – for payments in stores, bank transfers, and transfers to other wallets.
• Exchange USDT from a crypto wallet to cash rupiah through official exchange offices or private changers.
• Exchange of non-cash rubles to cash rupiah through private changers.

Below we'll tell you in detail about all these methods, their pros and cons, and what's best to choose. But in any case, we advise following a simple wisdom: "Don't keep all your eggs in one basket." This means you shouldn't rely, for example, only on a bank card (they can stop working at any moment) — you should back it up with cash. Or you shouldn't rely only on cash (you can lose it, it can be stolen) — you should back it up with a bank card or GoPay e-wallet. Even better, use 2-3 methods at once. Our choice is a combination of cash + bank card + GoPay wallet topped up via cryptocurrency.

Current Exchange Rate

The average value of one ruble is approximately 200 rupiah. For quick mental conversion of rupiah amounts to rubles, simply multiply the number of thousand rupiah by 5 (more precisely by 4.8). For example: 10 thousand rupiah * 5 ≈ 50 rubles. Or use our calculator:

Market exchange rate (Indonesian rupiah) for today (17/08/2026)

Real currency exchange rate *

* - The real exchange rate is calculated taking into account the fees charged by exchange offices and banks for the exchange. It can also be higher than the calculated one, but if you are offered an exchange rate lower than this, it's a reason to think about finding another place to exchange.

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* The calculator converts amounts based on official world currency exchange rates. When exchanging currency at exchange offices, the rate will differ slightly depending on the exchange office's commission.

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* - With the widget enabled, the exchange rate of the selected currency will be displayed in the right sidebar on every page of the site until you disable it yourself.

Which Currency to Take to Bali and Indonesia, and What's More Profitable

In tourist areas, you can pay with US dollars, but they'll give you a less favorable exchange rate, so it's always better to have local currency on hand. Preference is given to $100 and $50 bills from newer series with the blue security strip, issued in:

• $100 series 2009 and 2013
• $50 series 2006

For old bills, denominations under $50, or those with signs of wear, the exchange rate is noticeably lower, and they may even refuse to accept them. It's best if the bills are in perfect condition without wear, folds, inscriptions, or stamps.

In Bali, you can exchange most world currencies. As usual, the best exchange rates are for cash dollars, euros, and yuan. You can also exchange other Asian currencies: baht, dong, pesos, and many more. They even accept rubles, but the rate is terrible. A very high exchange rate is offered for USDT cryptocurrency, but read more about that below.

Here's a calculation of exchanging 100,000 rubles using different methods at real rates:

• Direct ruble exchange at exchange offices in Bali:

  100,000 * 80 = 8,000,000 rupiah

• Exchanging rubles through cash US dollars

  100,000 / 99.3 * 16,155 = 16,268,882 rupiah

• Exchanging rubles through cash euros

  100,000 / 104.5 * 16,629 = 15,912,919 rupiah

• Exchanging rubles through cash yuan

  100,000 / 14.21 * 2,178 = 15,327,234 rupiah

Based on the calculation, cash dollars are the most profitable at the moment, euros are slightly less profitable (-2.188%), and yuan are even less profitable (-5.788%). Moreover, it can be said that the difference between rates in different currencies fluctuates constantly, and we've gotten different results at different times, but always in a similar range. So you can take any of these three currencies if you're willing to sacrifice a few percent on the exchange. If you need the best result, definitely take dollars — it's also more reliable and easier to exchange at street exchange offices.

A separate story involves private exchangers in Telegram channels. Be very careful! They offer exchange of cash dollars, cryptocurrency, and non-cash rubles at very good rates, and you really can exchange with them. For example, at the time of calculation, for 100,000 rubles by non-cash transfer, you could get 14,830,000 rupiah. But the problem is that some Telegram exchangers offer online exchange with prepayment, which reeks of outright fraud and deception, and there are plenty of such cases. Therefore, never transfer money to exchangers until you receive cash from a courier — otherwise there's a high chance of being left with nothing.

Also, Telegram exchangers often initially advertise an inflated rate in their ads, but when you start chatting, they offer a different one, even lower than at exchange offices. And then they may lower it further during the transaction, supposedly due to a sharp drop in the exchange rate, so be careful.

Are Old Series Dollars Accepted

Old series dollars without the security strip, which are currently mainly sold in Russian banks, can be exchanged in Bali and Indonesia. Not everywhere accepts them, and you may have to visit several exchange offices, but overall you'll be able to exchange them if you really need to. Some exchange offices accept them at the stated rate on par with new bills, others at a discount — according to our calculations, about 0.6-1%.

This answers the question: which is better to take, old series dollars or euros? If you look at the calculation above, you'll see that exchanging through euros gives you 2.55% less, so even old series dollars are still slightly more profitable. However, for small amounts of a few hundred dollars, the difference is insignificant and can be ignored if you prefer a faster and more reliable exchange without visiting multiple exchange offices to find a good rate for old bills.

Can You Exchange Cryptocurrency

Yes, in Bali you can exchange the USDT stablecoin at a very good rate — it's even more profitable than cash. So if you're a confident crypto exchange user, this is an excellent option.

We exchanged cryptocurrency at the official exchange office BitExchange Money Changer (PT. Mongol Balindo Valas), here it is on the map. But there may be others; search around.

For example, here are USDT exchange rates at one point from personal experience:

• Official exchange rate – 16,585.
• USDT at exchange office – 16,200.
• Cash at street exchange offices – 15,875.

Based on our experience, USDT turned out to be 2% more profitable than cash dollars, and considering that USDT itself can be bought on a crypto exchange via P2P at a more favorable rate than cash dollars at Russian banks, the final difference in favor of USDT could be 3-5%.

However, don't forget about the fee for transferring USDT to another wallet, which you pay. For example, on ByBit it's $1.6 regardless of the amount, so exchanging large amounts is more profitable.

Moreover, private exchangers in Telegram chats offer even higher exchange rates, but we haven't had experience exchanging with them. If you do decide to exchange through private changers, keep in mind that there's a high chance of being scammed. Use common sense and never transfer money remotely in advance before receiving cash, no matter what rating and recommendations the exchanger has on Telegram — everything can be easily faked.

Where to Exchange Currency

There's no problem exchanging cash dollars, euros, and other world currencies in Bali and other tourist areas of Indonesia. Banks, official exchange offices, and unofficial exchange booths in various shops all offer exchange services. However, exchanging in Bali isn't so straightforward: there's a risk of being scammed, and there are many nuances on this topic. We'll tell you everything now:

The best real exchange rate (without being cheated) is at banks and network exchange offices. Banks usually operate from 08:00 to 15:00 on weekdays, so this is considered the most favorable time for exchange.

Network exchange offices in Bali include Central Kuta, Mr & Mrs Butler, MPB, Amandana, BMC. To avoid being scammed (or rather, to minimize the probability), we recommend exchanging money at banks or official exchange offices operating under or affiliated with banks.

The exchange rate also varies greatly by area. For example, in Lovina Beach, Amed, Padang Bai, Candidasa, and Gilimanuk on Bali, the rate is lower than in central areas. It's usually most profitable to exchange in Kuta, Legian, Seminyak, and Ubud.

However, in reality, few tourists exchange at banks; currency exchange at official or unofficial exchange points, which can be found almost everywhere, is more popular. But in such places, there's always a chance of being scammed, and it's very high. If you exchange money at an unofficial exchange office with a very high rate, you'll almost certainly be cheated. Usually, the inflated rate includes a commission that can reach 30%, but it's not disclosed to the tourist until your money is in the exchanger's hands. After that, canceling the exchange and getting your money back without threats of police is practically impossible. But even if you're sure there are no hidden commissions in the exchange rate, they'll try to cheat you during the actual money transfer. The traditional "money folding" trick is popular here, and sometimes they even use calculators that calculate incorrectly — obviously in favor of the exchanger.

To minimize the risk of being scammed at exchange offices, follow these rules:

• Always check the current rate with the cashier before exchanging, as it may differ from what's shown on the exchange office board.
• Don't believe stories that the exchange rate is now much lower than on the board because it's constantly changing and just dropped significantly. This is a trick to exchange at a lower rate; better go to another exchange office.
• Before exchanging, ask about any commissions and ask them to calculate and show you how much you'll actually get for your amount. Sometimes the rate on the board or sign is one thing, but they give you a different rate.
• Recalculate the rate yourself on your own calculator (on your phone).
• Try to exchange with two people — one handling the exchange, the other watching.
• When handing over currency, if possible, do this: show your currency for exchange and ask the exchanger to keep it in front of you until you count the money you receive. It's convenient to weigh it down with something like a paperweight, even your phone.
• Always count the money after receiving it; don't trust your eyes. Dexterous exchangers may give you the money, take it back supposedly to recount, and give it again (at this moment they try to palm off some bills).
• Carefully and attentively check the denominations and count the zeros on each bill.
• Don't rush and double-check everything several times. Some exchange offices may deliberately create a whole show of a queue and commotion to rush you and create stress, making it easy to make a mistake.
• Don't leave the exchange office until you're absolutely sure you've received everything you should.
• If you find a shortage, calmly and without aggression tell the exchanger about it. Then they'll apologize and give you the missing amount (count it again), or simply refuse the exchange and return your money.
• Every exchange point should theoretically issue a receipt. If they don't, ask for one. The receipt will be needed upon departure for reverse exchange or if something went wrong during the exchange.

Bank Cards

• Plastic cards from American Express, Visa, Diners, Visa Electron, and Master Card from foreign banks work; Russian cards do not.
• Mir cards also do not work anywhere, any way.
• Unionpay cards work only from Rosselkhozbank (RSHB) and ATB. All other Unionpay cards issued previously, including Gazprombank, Russian Standard, Tinkoff, etc., no longer work.

Cards are accepted in many places; payments are made without additional commission. Cash withdrawals are also possible without problems; there are many ATMs. Unionpay cards work at least in ATMs of two local banks — Bank Central Asia (BCA) and Bank Mandiri. Withdrawal fees range from 15,000 to 100,000 rupiah (0.84-5.61 USD), so it's better to withdraw larger amounts to reduce the impact of this one-time fee.

And don't forget about the fees from the Russian bank for cash withdrawals at other banks' ATMs. This information can only be found in the detailed tariff description for your specific card, and you also need to consider any activated options.

If you have a Unionpay bank card in rubles, each transaction will involve two conversions to convert the rate from rupiah to yuan and then from yuan to rubles, resulting in more losses. Therefore, it's more profitable to open a card in yuan and top it up at the bank's internal rate, or even open a brokerage account and buy yuan there with minimal commission to then withdraw to the card.

For example, currently (2026), under the most popular "Svoi karta plyus" tariff at Rosselkhozbank, the commission for withdrawals at other ATMs won't be charged only if you had more than 30,000 rubles in card expenses in the previous month. Otherwise, the commission will be 4% of the amount and at least 70 Chinese yuan for yuan-denominated cards, and 1.5% and at least 250 for ruble cards. So study the tariffs for your specific card and before each trip, as they can also be changed by banks unilaterally without personal notice.

Here's a comparison of Unionpay cards as of 2026:

Payment Systems and E-Wallets

Mobile payment systems or e-wallets are very developed in Indonesia. While the state doesn't strictly regulate them and foreigners can open them, they are an excellent alternative to both bank cards and cash. But we warn you right away: if you're not tech-savvy, it's not worth getting involved with them for a short trip. If you know what crypto and crypto exchanges are and have at least enough English to read technical terms, you'll easily figure it out and pay with them very profitably.

• What and How Can You Pay with Wallets

  You can pay for a lot with wallets, from supermarket purchases to services at travel agencies or renting transport by transferring to the seller's wallet. Of course, this won't completely free you from cash — you can't do without it. But again, even from wallets, you can withdraw money through ATMs or at special cash-out points with a small commission. For example, GoPay offers cash withdrawals at BCA ATMs with a fee of only 5,000 rupiah per transaction (0.28 USD). But conditions may change, so check everything in the app and system descriptions; more on this below.

• Which E-Wallets Are Available

  There are at least the following wallets:

  • GoPay – the wallet from the GoJek taxi company. According to reviews from travelers and relocators in Bali, this is the most common option, and we agree. Many locals have it (you can send them transfers), you can pay for purchases in stores via QRIS QR code, make online purchases, and of course, pay for GoJek taxis.
  • OVO – the wallet from the Grab taxi company. According to past statistics, it's considered the #1 payment system. But we note that according to reviews from Bali, GoPay is considered more widespread there, though we don't have statistics.
  • LinkAja – the wallet from the Telkomsel mobile operator. You can only create a wallet if you have a Telkomsel SIM card.
  • ShopeePay – the wallet from the local Shopee marketplace. It only makes sense to open it if you frequently buy something from this store.

  There's also a separate story about QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian). Sometimes it's mistakenly called an e-wallet, but that's not quite right. It's a payment system via QR codes at retail outlets, something like our SBP. To use QRIS payments, you don't need to set up anything extra; it's already available in e-wallet apps.

• Which Wallet to Choose

  Ideally, you should set up two wallets, GoPay and OVO, and use them depending on the situation. But it's understandable that it's difficult in practice, as you'd have to top up both. And then you'd have to make sure to spend all the money before the trip ends.

  That's why we choose GoPay. At least because the app interface is in English and you can create an account even with a Russian phone number. All other wallets only work with a local number.

  That's why we choose GoPay. At least because the app interface is in English and you can create an account even with a Russian phone number. All other wallets only work with a local number. During our last trip, we used GoPay to pay for almost everything, with rare exceptions — we only used cash in the rarest cases. Moreover, it's also noticeably more profitable than cash due to the difference in exchange rates when topping up. We'll tell you all about it now:

• How to Start Using GoPay

  You can install the GoPay app while still at home and connect it to a Russian SIM card. At least, we managed to do it without problems with a Russian Megafon number. If you have trouble registering with a Russian number, try selecting Kazakhstan as the country (same country code +7) or try registering first in the GoJek taxi app, then GoPay. If nothing works, try another Russian number or create the wallet on the spot.

  Right after registration, the wallet will have minimal functionality; you'll need to upgrade it to GoPay Plus. Again, there are no difficulties with this: take a photo of your passport, a selfie, and enter your address of stay in Indonesia (we just entered the address of a hotel we planned to stay at). Verification takes up to 24 hours, but ours was confirmed within a few hours.

• Where Can You Pay with GoPay

  With GoPay Plus status, you can make bank transfers, transfers to other wallets, and online purchases. This is great since almost all services for tourists can be paid this way, including tours, motorbike rentals, hotels on the spot, SIM card purchases, etc. And with QRIS QR codes, you can pay for almost anything anywhere, from supermarkets to warungs and cafes.

  The only thing unavailable to you is cash withdrawal through ATMs. The app allows cashing out the wallet through BCA ATMs with a fee of only 5,000 rupiah, but this requires NFC authorization with a local ID, which is not available to tourists.

• How to Top Up GoPay

  You can top up wallets with cash at special points or through bank cards. But Russian bank cards aren't suitable for this, and bringing cash here to exchange for rupiah and then deposit it through top-up points would ultimately be unprofitable and inconvenient — too many steps and losses.

  Therefore, the only convenient and truly profitable way for Russian tourists to top them up that we know of is crypto exchanges. If you have a USDT, BTD, ETH, or other wallet, you can quickly and profitably top them up via P2P exchange. If you know other profitable ways, write in the comments.

  The exchange rate on P2P exchanges, like ByBit, is excellent. It's often even higher than the official exchange rate, not to mention cash exchange. Here's a specific example from personal experience at one moment:

  • Cash dollar rate at city exchange offices – 16,350
  • Official exchange rate – 16,910
  • USDT exchange via exchange – 16,992 (see screenshot below).

  As you can see, withdrawing to GoPay via P2P on a crypto exchange can be done at an even better rate than the official one, and 3.9% higher than cash!!!

  So it's really profitable. You can easily top up your crypto exchange account from a ruble card via P2P exchange. We recommend using USDT for exchange, as it's the most stable unit, pegged to the dollar. Incidentally, if you didn't know, this is exactly the method that Telegram chat exchangers use to convert rubles to rupiah, but they charge hefty commissions for it.

  If you're not familiar with this topic and don't know what to do, there's plenty of information and ready-made guides on working with cryptocurrency online.

  And here's our honest ByBit referral link with code MEZZNRE, through which you can register on the exchange and get a bonus of up to 6,045 USDT. You can register on the exchange directly without this link, but then you won't get the bonus.

  

Tipping

Officially, there are no tips in Indonesia, and service charges are almost always included in the bill. But if you liked the service, you can thank the staff with tips, leave a little extra on top of the bill at a restaurant or cafe, or leave a reward for the taxi driver.

Usually, in restaurants targeting tourists, the service charge is included in the bill and indicated in fine print on the menu — it's 5-10%. In such cases, you shouldn't tip. If there's no service charge, you can leave tips if you wish, but it's not required. You can give a porter 5,000-10,000 rupiah, leave 10,000 – 20,000 for housekeeping. For a metered taxi ride, you can round up the fare to the nearest ten thousand.