Ahead of Eid 2026, Bank Indonesia Records 85.4 Per Cent Surge in New Currency Exchanges
JAKARTA — Bank Indonesia (BI) has recorded a significant increase in public demand for new currency exchanges during the 2026 Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr period compared to the previous year.
Muh. Anwar Bashori, head of BI’s Currency Management Department, stated that as of 13 March 2026, a total of 1,076,282 people had exchanged money through official channels. This figure represents approximately an 85.4 per cent increase compared to the same period in the previous year, when 580,496 people participated in currency exchanges.
To accommodate this heightened demand, BI has significantly expanded its exchange service network across various regions. The number of service points has increased to 9,294 locations this year, up from 5,202 the previous year.
According to Bashori, the expansion of services aims to make it easier for the public to access official rupiah currency exchanges, particularly to meet the needs of traditional gift-giving practices, holiday allowance (THR) distributions, and economic activities during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr.
“The high demand and expanded services demonstrate that public demand for small denomination notes for traditional gift-sharing, holiday allowance distributions, and economic activities during Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr remains very substantial,” he said.
Beyond expanding service points, BI has also provided additional services for citizens travelling for the Eid holiday exodus (mudik). On 16-17 March 2026, BI launched special mudik-focused services under the “SERAMBI Peduli Mudik” programme.
The programme operates at 55 service locations positioned at key mudik travel routes, including airports, railway stations, bus terminals, ports, and highway rest areas. BI has allocated approximately 12,000 exchange packages through this additional service to facilitate the needs of holiday travellers seeking small denomination notes before returning to their hometowns.
“BI ensures the availability of sufficient rupiah currency in appropriate denominations through various official service channels, including mobile banking services, integrated services, and banking institutions,” Bashori stated.
He also cautioned the public to conduct currency exchanges exclusively through official BI channels and banking institutions to guarantee currency authenticity and transaction security.
“Currency exchanges through unofficial buying and selling mechanisms carry various risks, including unverified currency authenticity, difficulty in ensuring accurate amounts, lack of protection or accountability, and vulnerability to fraud that could cause financial harm to the public,” he warned.