Bank Indonesia Cuts Foreign Exchange Purchase Limit to US$25,000, Taking Effect in June 2026

Bank Indonesia (BI) is set to again lower the limit on foreign exchange (forex) purchases without underlying documents in June 2026, from US$50,000 to US$25,000. Under the change, forex purchases above US$25,000 can still be made, but must be accompanied by supporting documents showing the purpose of the transaction or the need for the purchase. Deputy Governor Thomas Djiwandono said the central bank would provide a one-month transition period to adjust the system at both the central bank and the banking sector. It should be noted that on 1 April BI had just imposed a restriction on forex purchases from US$100,000 to US$50,000 per person per month. The transition period runs until 30 April 2026.

Thomas disclosed that under the previous policy BI successfully reduced forex transactions from US$78 million per day in Q1 2026 to US$62 million per day in April–May 2026. Consequently, BI is seeking to reduce the limit further to US$25,000 per person per month to bolster rupiah stability.

“That means we hope that this trajectory will continue into the next policy,” he said.

Previously, BI Governor Perry Warjiyo stated that this policy is one of BI’s seven measures to strengthen the rupiah’s stability, which has been under pressure from global and seasonal factors. Warjiyo elaborated that the global factors pressuring the rupiah in the short term include rising world oil prices, the US policy rate, the yield on the US 10-year Treasury at around 4.47 per cent, and a strengthening of the US dollar. Domestically, the seasonal factor in April–June is a significant rise in demand for US dollars due to needs for dividend repatriation, debt payments, and haj pilgrims.

Beyond tightening US dollar purchases in the domestic market, BI is also seeking to boost use of local currencies, notably the rupiah and the Chinese yuan. “The yuan and rupiah have developed domestically because our local currency with the Chinese yuan is very strong and a domestic market is now forming. This reduces or diversifies away from the US dollar and strengthens the rupiah,” he explained.