There is a small sound becoming increasingly familiar in daily life:\nthe \u2018ting!\u2019 notification signifying a successful QRIS transaction. This\nsound is heard in eateries, coffee shops, grocery stores, parking lots,\nand home businesses. It lasts only a second or two, but when aggregated,\nmillions of such sounds tell a significant story about the changing face\nof the Indonesian economy.<\/p>\n
Bank Indonesia (BI) recorded that QRIS transactions in the second\nquarter of 2026 grew by 100.12% year-on-year (yoy). During the same\nperiod, digital payment transaction volumes reached 16.07 billion\ntransactions, a growth of 36.88%. QRIS growth remained high in July 2026\nat 82.42% yoy, supported by an increase in the number of users and\nmerchants.<\/p>\n
At first glance, these figures are impressive. QRIS is growing at\nthree digits, the digital economy is becoming more active, and\ntransactions are becoming easier for the public. However, another set of\nfigures must be considered alongside them. In the second quarter of\n2026, household consumption grew by 5.06% yoy, while the overall\nIndonesian economy grew by 5.29%, with the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)\nat current prices reaching Rp6,552.1 trillion.<\/p>\n
The question arises: if QRIS is growing by 100% while household\nconsumption only grows by about 5%, what exactly is growing? The answer\nis not as simple as \u2018public purchasing power is surging\u2019.<\/p>\n
QRIS is a payment channel, not a direct measure of purchasing power.\nIts growth can be influenced by the increasing number of merchants\naccepting digital payments, the rising number of users, and the shift of\nthe public from cash or other payment channels to QRIS. Therefore, a\nsurge in QRIS transactions cannot be translated one-to-one as an\nincrease in real consumption.<\/p>\n
For example, consider someone who paid Rp100,000 for a meal in cash\nlast year, but pays the same amount via QRIS this year. Economically,\nthey are not necessarily wealthier. The only thing that has changed is\nthe payment trail: previously, money changed hands; now, data also\nmoves.<\/p>\n
This fact is often overlooked: digitalisation does not always create\nnew transactions. Most of the time, it simply moves transactions from a\nform that is difficult to track into a form that leaves a digital\nfootprint.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, this does not mean QRIS is not useful as an economic\nindicator. On the contrary. Household consumption is the most important\ncomponent of the Indonesian economy, and BI assesses that household\nconsumption in the second quarter remained stable, driven in part by\nvarious government stimuli such as food assistance, transport tariff\nreductions, and national internship and vocational training\nprogrammes.<\/p>\n
This means there is a sufficiently strong basis to state that public\nconsumption is indeed still ongoing. However, ongoing consumption and\nhealthy purchasing power are not entirely identical.<\/p>\n
Imagine three people all paying Rp500,000 via QRIS. The first person\npays with newly received income, the second uses savings, and the third\nuses available credit facilities provided through payment service\nproviders.<\/p>\n
For the merchant, all three are the same: Rp500,000 is received.\nHowever, for the household\u2019s financial condition, the stories differ.\nThe first person uses income, the second uses previously accumulated\nwealth, and the third draws upon future payment capacity.<\/p>\n
This is where the problem lies in reading purchasing power:\ntransaction figures show the decision to buy, but they do not always\nshow the resources that make that decision possible. This does not mean\nthat the use of savings or credit is a bad thing.<\/p>\n
Savings are meant to be used, while credit can help manage cash flow\nand finance both productive and consumption needs. The problem arises\nwhen transaction values are used solely to conclude that public welfare\nis automatically increasing.<\/p>\n
Therefore, inflation data needs to be placed within the same context.\nThe previously awaited data is now available. BPS recorded that in\nAugust 2026, inflation was 0.21% month-on-month (m-to-m), with annual\ninflation (y-to-d) at 1.86%, and year-on-year (y-on-y) inflation at\n3.19%, with the Consumer Price Index (CPI) at 111.97. This annual\ninflation rate is higher than the 2.88% recorded in July 2026.<\/p>\n
Interestingly, the price increases in August were not limited to just\none or two groups. All expenditure groups experienced annual inflation.\nThe food, beverage, and tobacco group experienced inflation of 3.86%;\ntransport at 4.79%; food and beverage services\/restaurants at 2.67%; and\npersonal care and other services at 9.25%.<\/p>\n
The latter group even contributed 0.63 percentage points to annual\ninflation, primarily due to the rise in gold jewellery prices, which\ncontributed 0.53 percentage points.<\/p>\n
Price pressure was also felt in commodities close to daily\nconsumption. In August 2026, the commodities that dominated the annual\ninflation contribution included broiler chicken at 0.24 percentage\npoints, fresh fish at 0.22 points, cooking oil at 0.13 points, and rice\nat 0.12 points. Meanwhile, in the transport group, petrol contributed\n0.31 points and airfares contributed 0.12 points.<\/p>\n
Thus, the August release provides increasingly important context for\ninterpreting purchasing power. While digital transactions are\nincreasing, the prices of goods and services purchased by households are\nalso rising. A larger transaction value does not necessarily mean the\nvolume of goods and services purchased is increasing in the same\nproportion.<\/p>\n
As an illustration, if expenditure increases by 6% while the average\nprice of goods and services also increases, the volume of goods and\nservices purchased does not necessarily rise by 6%. Therefore, nominal\nconsumption is not the same as real consumption, and real consumption\ndoes not automatically follow.<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/behind-the-qris-sound-reading-invisible-purchasing-power-1788605668", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }