BI Deputy Governor Candidate Anwar Bashori: Digital Rupiah Not Yet Urgent
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia - Bank Indonesia (BI) deputy governor candidate M. Anwar Bashori believes that the realisation of a digital rupiah linked to a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) is not yet urgent for implementation in Indonesia.
The man who currently serves as Executive Director of the Currency Management Department at BI said that the lack of urgency for a digital rupiah is due to the still significant heterogeneity or diversity in the use of the rupiah currency in Indonesia.
“CBDC seems for now its urgency is not yet there because our heterogeneity is extraordinary, because our education, our other islands are not yet able, because the exchange rate problem alone we have not been able to solve,” he said while responding to questions from the DPR during a fit and proper test as a candidate for BI deputy governor, Thursday (27/8/2026).
Anwar also emphasised that, in addition, in maintaining cash, communities across Indonesia’s islands also do not yet have the same understanding. Therefore, he said, BI still has to replace worn-out money with new money every year.
“90% every year we do only to replace worn-out money in certain places because not all of our regions have the same circulation suitability,” he explained.
In terms of payment system digitalisation, he said, islands across Indonesia also have equal infrastructure. Therefore, he stressed, the digital rupiah is currently still limited to implementation studies.
“So I think Indonesia is not only Java, Indonesia is not only a few cities, and Indonesia is vast, our heterogeneity still exists, especially non-cash still has disparities. So for now CBDC is something that is under study but its urgency may need to be reconsidered,” said Anwar Bashori.
As is known, the digital rupiah project or Project Garuda has not shown significant progress since 2025.
Last year, Bank Indonesia (BI) only managed to complete the proof of concept (PoC) review of the digital rupiah for the first phase of the immediate state - wholesale cash ledger.
Project Garuda is a Bank Indonesia initiative to explore a Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC) in Indonesia called the digital rupiah.
Head of BI’s Communication Department Ramdan Denny Prakoso said this new chapter is a continuation of three previous stages that began in 2022, namely the white paper, consultative paper and public consultation report.
“The PoC is the central bank’s effort to test the readiness of technology that supports the development of the digital rupiah business model,” Ramdan said in a BI release, Friday (13/12/2024).
In 2025, testing was carried out comprehensively, covering critical technical aspects, transaction security, and interoperability with existing payment systems and financial infrastructure.
These three aspects, Ramdan said, were the focus of in-depth attention in the PoC design, with the aim of ensuring that the system developed is able to deliver efficient, secure and reliable services.
He explained that each stage in technology testing is a crucial element in the process of enriching ideas, exploring innovation, and validating previously formulated concepts.
This testing was carried out by utilising potential technology platforms based on distributed ledger technology (DLT), which have undergone a series of thorough technical evaluations and are aligned with projected future digital rupiah business model needs.