South Bali, Indonesia Travel Guide
About Getting Around Attractions Hotels Eats & Nightlife Essentials & Practicals
Money Matters in South Bali
Money in Bali
Currency: Currency in Indonesia is the Rupiah, IDR. Rp is the official abbreviation. Rp 20,000 for example.
Note: The exchange rate to the U.S. dollar as of 2010 is approximately Rp10,000 to $1. Indonesia, like Korea, uses large denominations but your money stretches a lot farther in Indonesia. The withdrawal limit from ATMs runs from Rp1,000,000 to Rp3,000,000.
Travel Caution
For the most part, I could only withdraw Rp1,000,000 at a time, which is only $100 USD. I withdrew twice or three times so I didn’t have keep hitting up the ATM machines. However, remember that you pay 1. an international transaction fee, which is a small percentage of the amount you withdraw 2. a non-bank fee. (I don’t know why most ATMs in Bali (and Ubud) restrict you to Rp1,000,000 limit. I can only speculate that the banks want to collect fees from Bali’s heavy tourist traffic. Or, perhaps people tend to overdraw and exceed their withdraw limits.)
Accessibility
Kuta: There are ATMs everywhere in Kuta, Legian and Sanur and Nusa Dua. In Kuta, I could not find a truly wheelchair accessible ATM in Kuta. You have to go to the Discovery Shopping Mall.
Sanur: There are wheelchair accessible ATMs along Jalan Tamblingran. You will find a BNI (Bank Niaga Indonesia) and a Commonwealth Bank ATM (I believe Commonwealth) across from each other in a nicely recessed entrance and parking area in front of Penjor Restaurant.
Banks & ATMs: The major banks and ATMs you’ll see in Bali
- Lippo Bank (merged with Bank Niaga Indonesia)
- BNI (Bank Niaga Indonesia, or Bank CIMB Niaga)
- BCA (Bank Central Asia)
- Bank Danamon
- Commonwealth Bank
- BPI (Bank of Philippines Islands)
- Citibank does have a presence as well (Sanur at McDonald Denpasar JI. Raya By Pass Ngurah Ray No. 109.).
BNI (Bank Niaga Indonesia) is actually CIMB group and will show up as Bank CIMB Niaga, Indonesia (mergers) on your transaction receipts.
I used BNI (in Sanur), BCA (in Kuta) and Bank Danamon (Ubud) during my trip.
Withdraw Limits
BNI – Rp3,000,000 ($300) – at least in the airport
BCA – Jalan Legian at 2981 Agung Cottage – Rp1,000,000
Bank Danamon (in Ubud) – Rp1,000,000
Money Changers
Remember that Bali is a tourist trap and that the Balinese are trying to make money at every turn. That being said, the expats in Bali mentioned that Circle K money changers are the fairest, legitimate. The streets are full of money changers (Jalan Legian, just north – maybe 100 yards – of White Rose Hotel and the Memorial) but, as usual, you’ll get terrible rates and often no official receipt.
Just be careful. As usual, I prefer ATMs over money changers, especially in Bali, even if you’re docked international transaction fees and a couple of dollars in non-bank ATM fees.
Sales Tax
Generally speaking, only restaurants and hotels charge sales tax – from 10 percent to 25 percent, depending on the class of the establishment. For everything else, you don’t get taxed. That goes for convenience stores (though I heard that alcohol and cigarettes are taxed) if you buy water, etc.
Tipping
You don’t need to tip in Bali. However, from my experience, tipping is welcomed of course. It’s not like Beijing where the wait staff runs after you with your tip if you leave one. Rp5,000 is a good amount for the wait staff at high end restaurants, bell hops, etc.
Note: There is no need to tip a hired driver. You negotiate a price for a certain timeframe and just pay that price.