Currency in Bali – How to Succeed With Money in 2023
There’s no need to be worried about the currency in Bali, we will explain everything you need to know below.
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What currency does Bali use?
The official currency of Indonesia is the Indonesian Rupiah and you will see lots of places displaying this as IDR. Once you are in Bali the prices will usually be written as Rp when you are using your money.
You might be surprised when you start to see prices such as 100,000 Rp or even 1,000,000 Rp. This is because in the past Indonesia has had economic troubles and therefore the power of IDR has dropped.Â
The common way to express these prices in Bali is as 7K or 450K for example. Here K stands for a thousand and this is a common shorthand that is used in Bali. Make sure when reading menus or looking at prices you remember it means a thousand or you might be surprised when the bill comes.
There are both coins and notes of IDR and you will find coins worth 50, 100, 200, 500 and 1000 rupiahs. Notes available are: 1000, 2000, 5000, 10.000, 20.000, 50.000 and 100.000 rupiahs. So you will end up with quite a lot of cash on you if you take out enough money for a few days.
It is a good tip to familiarise yourself with the notes and coins as all the extra 0’s can be hard to work out if it is 10K or 100K and you may end up paying more than you expected or being caught out with less money than you thought.
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What currency does Bali use?
The conversions from IDR to common currencies are listed below. All may vary as conversion rates change but are accurate to February 2023.
How to Take Money Out?
There are many international ATM’s all around Bali and you can take out money very easily to use when purchasing things. Some have a price to withdraw money but many do not so try to find a machine with free cash withdrawals.Â
The ATM’s will have their own conversion rate and this can become a little bit confusing if you are not prepared.Â
Always request conversion in local currency instead of your own currency as this is a sneaky way to make more money by using a worse conversion rate. Also be sure to decline the ATM’s own conversion rate as this will always end up more expensive!
Be careful of ATM’s in Bali because we have experienced our cards being skimmed, luckily no money was taken as we take precautions against this. We always have multiple bank accounts that we use whilst travelling and only move money into the account we are using to withdraw cash when we need it, we do not leave money in this account due to this ATM scam.
Another thing to note is that on most ATM machines in Bali you have to manually press on screen to retrieve your card after withdrawing money. Make sure you always take your card after going to the ATM as this could be a pricey way to lose your bank card.
Cash or card?
In most restaurants and legitimate stores in Bali, card is widely accepted and many people choose to pay for most things with travel cards.Â
Smaller stores or local warungs and services will only accept cash however so it is best to have a mixture of cash plus your card to use in Bali.Â
Try to also have a good mixture of change on you as some local places will not have the change to give to you. If you are using a large note like 100,000 Rp for something that is 7000 Rp the shop keeper or local might find it annoying to try to give you change.
Travel cards:
International travel cards are a great way to save money on all of the hidden fees that your normal bank account may have to withdraw money.Â
We highly recommend having a few different travel accounts as spares in case you lose your card or you hit the maximum daily limit of one.
Starling and Revolut are the standout winners or travel cards for Bali as they guarantee a fixed exchange rate and there are no hidden fees.Â
Things to note:
Sometimes the cashier or whoever you are paying will not give you the small coins as change as it is such a small amount. If they do not have the right coin they will not bother giving it to you. For example you purchase a cold drink for 11,500 Rp and give them 50K Rp you will most likely receive 38K Rp change and there is no point waiting around for the extra coin.Â
Be careful when people give you your change as a very small number of local Bali people will try to scam you by giving you the incorrect change. Sometimes this could be a genuine mistake and miscalculation which you can always explain to them what change you were expecting and there will be no problem. However, sometimes they will genuinely try to only give you some of your change and you might have to be a little bit forceful with what you say and your tone of voice to get the money you deserve, or simply write it off as a loss as it is usually a small amount. To avoid this try to carry lots of change and pay the exact amounts at local places.
Avoid currency converters at the airport as they are known to mark-up the exchange rates and offer you a worse conversion. Try to take out some IDR before arriving for the transport to your accommodation or pre-pay for the transport online when you book.Â
Now you will have no problems when paying for things or understanding the money in Bali. If you have any more questions you can ask away on Instagram in our travelling community.
Need more info, check out the rest of our Bali blog posts HERE!
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