Currency And Money Changer in Bali Indonesia
21 October 2024Traveling abroad requires us to know several currencies that can be spent and are valid in the destination country. This is very important because when visiting the country, you will definitely make various transactions such as renting a car, paying for a hotel, food costs, buying souvenirs, or other activities.
If you plan to visit Indonesia, it is much better to know the currency that applies in Indonesia, the Rupiah, which is often called IDR (Indonesian Rupiah). For people who are new to the Rupiah, IDR will be very confusing because the Rupiah currency has many zeros. The exchange rate has decreased after the 1997 global crisis.
Knowing the currency that applies in the destination country is very important because you can prepare how much currency you need and you must know the exchange rate and details of its denomination. This is important to facilitate transactions. Prices are generally written in local currency but some are also written in American Dollars (USD).
On the island of Bali, one of the entry points for visitors is Ngurah Rai Denpasar Airport which is located in the southern part of the island of Bali and is the only airport in Bali, although in recent years there have been rumors that another airport will be built in Buleleng, which is located in the northern part of the island of Bali, with the intention of spreading development evenly. However, until now it has not been realized because there are some Balinese people who do not agree because the construction of a new airport in the northern part of the island of Bali will accelerate the transfer of function and ownership of land, from native Balinese to investors.
There are many money changers at Ngurah Rai Denpasar Airport and other tourist areas such as Kuta, Sanur, Legian, Seminyak, Nusa Dua, Canggu, Candi Dasa. Generally, their exchange rates are almost the same. The exchange rate in the airport is slightly different from that outside the airport. From our monitoring, the exchange rate at Ngurah Rai Denpasar Airport is lower than that of some money changers outside the airport.
There are several things to consider if you want to exchange money. Of course, you have to look for an official money changer, aka authorized money changer, which is widely available in tourist areas in Bali.
Here are some tips if you want to exchange money:
- Choose an official money changer. If you arrive at Ngurah Rai Denpasar Airport and order an airport-hotel taxi transfer service, you can ask the driver to take you to an official money changer. There are many money changers in Kuta not far from Ngurah Rai Denpasar Airport.
- Make sure the amount you exchange and the exchange rate.
- Carefully calculate the amount of money you exchange and the amount of money in Rupiah that you receive in front of the money changer counter.
- Get to know the denomination of the rupiah currency so that you can easily calculate and spend it later.
Here are some of the Rupiah denominations that are currently valid:
Cash is the King
There are things you need to know besides money changers, exchange rates, and local currency denominations, namely plastic money or card payments. Some visitors who visit Indonesia, especially on vacation to Bali Island, will experience different habits from some developed countries such as Europe or America.
Payment by credit card has started to develop in Bali. Some shops can already accept payments with EDC machines such as spas, hotels, souvenir shops, restaurants, car rental and others with an extra surcharge.
However, after the COVID-19 Pandemic, several banking companies that provide EDC machines began to withdraw their machines for unclear reasons. Maybe it was caused by the increasing number of people using credit card payments and then failing to pay.
To avoid failing to transact with a credit card, it is highly recommended to bring along an amount of cash and then exchange the money into Rupiah IDR. Some shops, services, and others prefer to accept cash payments, so the term cash is the king emerged.
