Currency in Bali: Indonesian Rupiah (IDR)
The rupiah is the only legal currency in Indonesia. A hotel or tour operator may quote a price in US dollars, but you'll almost always pay in rupiah. Get it from an ATM or a money changer once you arrive.
Prices have a lot of zeros, so everyday bills of Rp 100,000 to Rp 500,000 are normal. A meal is often Rp 75,000 and a short taxi ride about Rp 150,000.
So what does that buy you? US dollars are worth about Rp 17,950 each today, and the rupiah has traded between Rp 16,560 and Rp 18,151 to the dollar over the past year. The card below shows whether now is a good time to convert into rupiah, and the chart tracks how the dollar has held up against it over the past five years.
So Rp 100,000 is about $5.57, and Rp 1,000,000 is $55.71.
- US Dollar USD
- Euro EUR
- British Pound GBP
- Australian Dollar AUD
- Canadian Dollar CAD
- New Zealand Dollar NZD
- Swiss Franc CHF
- Singapore Dollar SGD
- Hong Kong Dollar HKD
- Japanese Yen JPY
- Chinese Yuan CNY
- Indian Rupee INR
- Malaysian Ringgit MYR
- Thai Baht THB
- Philippine Peso PHP
- South Korean Won KRW
- South African Rand ZAR
- Mexican Peso MXN
- Brazilian Real BRL
- Turkish Lira TRY
- Israeli Shekel ILS
- Polish Zloty PLN
- Czech Koruna CZK
- Hungarian Forint HUF
- Romanian Leu RON
- Swedish Krona SEK
- Norwegian Krone NOK
- Danish Krone DKK
- Icelandic Krona ISK
Good time to convert.
The rupiah is near the weakest it has been all year against the dollar, so your money goes further than usual. Twelve-month average: Rp 17,247.
Paying with card in Bali
Your card is the easy default in most of Bali. Hotels, supermarkets, larger restaurants and beach clubs take Visa and Mastercard. Keep cash for markets, warungs, tips, temple donations and street taxis. American Express is rare, so don't make it your only card.
Two extra charges can apply to a card payment. Some places add a 2-3% card surcharge, or say they are "cash only", to avoid paying the processing fee. Bank Indonesia's card rules ban that surcharge, but arguing at the counter rarely works, so carry enough small cash for these places. Your own bank may also add a foreign-transaction fee to every payment abroad; the calculator below shows which cards skip it.
Where a terminal takes contactless, we'd pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay instead of the physical card. Bigger hotels, chains and malls support it. Your phone sends the terminal a one-time token instead of your real card number, so a skimmer never sees it. Link it to a Visa or Mastercard.
Always pay in rupiah. When an ATM or card machine offers to charge you in your home currency, decline it. In rupiah, your card sets the exchange rate, and that rate is nearly always better than the machine's.
Compare travel cards on how you actually spend
Free travel cards available
New to comparing cards? See how the calculator works.
Cash in Bali
Carry about Rp 300,000 to Rp 500,000 at a time. Cards cover the big costs, so cash is for the day's small spending: warungs, drivers, markets, parking and temple donations.
- Carry small notes. Many warungs, drivers and stalls can't break a Rp 100,000, so keep Rp 20,000 and Rp 50,000 notes for everyday spending.
- Pay for rides and food delivery through Grab or Gojek. Add a foreign Visa or Mastercard to either ride-hailing app and it pays in the app, so a big share of your daily spending needs no cash.
- Break big notes at supermarkets, minimarts or your hotel. Indomaret and Alfamart, the two big minimart chains, change a Rp 100,000 without fuss.
- Have some rupiah on arrival. It covers the tourist levy, an airport taxi and your first day, before you find a good ATM or money changer.
Best ATMs in Bali (fees by bank)
BCA and BNI add no surcharge to a withdrawal on a foreign card, so start with those. The other big banks charge a flat fee per withdrawal, or don't publish one. The table below shows the local machine's charge only.
One withdrawal can carry three separate charges. The local ATM surcharge is added by the Indonesian machine and shown in the table. Your own bank may add a foreign-ATM fee at home. DCC (dynamic currency conversion) is the machine's offer to bill you in your home currency at a poor rate, so always decline it.
Use an ATM attached to a bank branch (BCA, BNI, Mandiri), not a free-standing one. Stand-alone machines in minimarts and along the tourist strips are where card skimming shows up most in Bali. They also push the "convert for you" prompt hardest. A machine inside or bolted onto a staffed branch is much harder to tamper with. Cover the keypad as you type your PIN, and walk away if the card slot looks bulky or loose.
- Free on a foreign card
- BCA No fee Start here. The widest network on the island and clear English prompts.
- BNI No fee The other free option, and easier to find outside the tourist strip.
- Charges a per-withdrawal fee
- BRI Rp 30,000 A flat fee, not the percentage some guides quote, though reported rather than published. Best rural coverage.
- Bank Mandiri Rp 50,000 A foreign-card access fee since 22 February 2026. Shown before you confirm.
- CIMB Niaga Rp 75,000 The steepest of the big banks, on traveler reports rather than a published rate. Walk to a BCA or BNI instead.
- Fee not published
- Permata From Rp 25,000 Common in Seminyak and Ubud. Reports run from Rp 25,000 up, so read the screen.
- Maybank Unknown A decent network but thinly spread. Takes foreign cards.
- OCBC Unknown Branches in Seminyak, Kuta and Denpasar. Takes foreign cards.
- Independent tourist ATMs Highest Pushes conversion hardest and is where skimming shows up. Use a branch machine.
- The most you can take out at once is Rp 3,000,000, and the limit depends on the machine. A machine stocked with Rp 100,000 notes stops at Rp 3,000,000. One holding Rp 50,000 notes stops at Rp 2,500,000, and some, BRI especially, stop at about Rp 1,500,000. The note size is printed on the machine, so check it before you put your card in.
- Take out more, less often. Your bank or the machine may charge a flat fee per withdrawal, so one big withdrawal at a no-surcharge BCA or BNI keeps the total down. Your home bank's daily limit may be lower, so plan for more than one withdrawal on a big cash day.
- Wait for your card. Some machines return the cash first, so don't walk off until the card is back in your hand.
- Read the fee on screen before you confirm. Fees change and differ by bank.
Updated September 2026
Exchanging cash in Bali
A money changer is worth using if you brought cash from home or want to change a large amount at once. Change it in town, at an authorized changer.
- At the airport, change only enough for the taxi. The exchange counters at Ngurah Rai Airport (DPS) have some of the worst rates on the island. Change the rest in town or take it from an ATM.
- Use an authorized money changer. Look for the green-shield "PVA Berizin" sticker (Bank Indonesia's mark for a licensed changer) and the hologram in the window. Central Kuta Money Exchange, PT Dirgahayu Valuta Prima (Bali Best Rate) and BMC are trusted chains with clear rates and branches across Kuta, Seminyak, Ubud and Sanur.
- Walk away from a rate far better than everyone else's. If a small side-street booth posts a rate Rp 500-1,000 better than Central Kuta or BMC, it takes the difference back with counting tricks, a surprise "commission" or folded notes.
- Bring clean, large notes. Newer US$100 and $50 bills, and large EUR, GBP or AUD notes, get the best rate. Torn, marked or small notes get a worse rate or are refused.
- Count it before you leave. Count the rupiah in front of the teller, don't hand it back after counting, and keep the receipt.
For everyday spending, a bank ATM is simpler and gives a similar rate.
Paying by QR (QRIS) in Bali
Almost every warung, café and shop in Bali now takes QRIS, Indonesia's national QR code, which locals pay through apps like GoPay, OVO and DANA. Whether you can use it depends on where you're from, and it's the fiddliest option to set up.
- From Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Japan, South Korea or China: your home banking or e-wallet app can scan Indonesian QRIS codes directly and bills you in your own currency. There's nothing extra to install.
- From anywhere else: Wise and Revolut can't scan QRIS codes, because QRIS is a closed Indonesian system. The workaround is a local wallet such as GoPay (in the Gojek app) or OVO (in Grab), topped up with cash or a foreign Visa or Mastercard. Setting one up usually needs an Indonesian SIM and phone number.
On a short trip, skip the setup. Cash and a good travel card work everywhere QRIS does.
Tax refund for tourists in Bali
You can get the VAT (Indonesia's sales tax) back on shopping in Bali at the refund counter at Ngurah Rai Airport, but only if you spend a fair amount. The scheme works mainly at malls and larger stores, and rarely at the boutiques and markets in Ubud or Seminyak.
- Shop where you see a "Tax Free Shop" sign and ask for a tax invoice with your passport number. Each invoice needs at least Rp 50,000 of VAT, which means spending about Rp 505,000.
- Your invoices must add up to Rp 500,000 of VAT, about Rp 5 million of shopping, bought within 30 days of your flight. Invoices from different shops count together.
- You need a foreign passport and a stay of up to 60 days. The goods have to leave with you on the plane.
- Go to the refund counter before check-in with your passport, boarding pass, invoices and the goods.
- Refunds up to Rp 5 million are paid in cash, in rupiah. Larger refunds go to a bank account within about a month.
Most Bali trips don't reach the minimum, so don't plan your shopping around the refund.
Sending money to Bali
Most visitors never need to send money to Bali. If you're paying a villa deposit, supporting family or moving funds into an Indonesian account for a long stay, most of the cost is hidden in the exchange rate. Expect a 3-6% markup built into the rate, on top of any fee you can see.
The mid-market rate is the midpoint between the buy and sell price, the rate you see on Google. Specialist services like Wise and Instarem get within about 1% of it. A high-street bank wire to an Indonesian account can cost 5-8% once the markup and correspondent-bank fees (charged by the banks that pass the money along) are added, and it often takes days longer.
Compare the rupiah that arrives, not the fee. A provider can advertise "zero fees" and still cost you the most if its rate is a few percent below mid-market.
Sending a specific currency? Jump to its live rate, provider comparison and fees:
See what you'll actually receive today
Compare Providers
Travel tips?
Sign up for our guide on how to save money on your next trip.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Should I bring cash to Bali, and how much?
Bring a little for the airport taxi and get the rest in Bali. Day to day you need cash only for warungs, drivers, markets and temple donations, since cards cover hotels and larger restaurants. Carry small notes, because many vendors can't break a Rp 100,000.
-
Is American Express accepted in Bali?
Rarely. A few high-end hotels and restaurants take it, far fewer than take Visa or Mastercard, so don't bring it as your only card.
-
Can I pay with Apple Pay or Google Pay in Bali?
Yes, where the terminal takes contactless, mainly at bigger hotels, chains and malls. Link it to a Visa or Mastercard. Smaller vendors take cash or QRIS instead.
-
Should I exchange money before arriving in Bali?
No. Rates at home are usually worse than at a Bali ATM or an authorized money changer, and a lot of cash is a risk to carry. Bring enough for the taxi, then withdraw or exchange the rest in Bali.
-
Are airport ATMs in Bali safe to use?
Yes. The ATMs inside Ngurah Rai Airport (DPS) are fine; it's the airport exchange counters that give some of the worst rates on the island. Withdraw a small amount if you need cash on arrival and change larger sums in town.
-
Should I pay in rupiah or my home currency at the machine?
Always choose rupiah. If you pick your home currency, the terminal sets the exchange rate through dynamic currency conversion, and that rate is worse than your own bank's.