BI Restricts Cash Dollar Purchases to USD 50,000 per Month

Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo announced that the central bank would implement several adjustments to foreign exchange transaction policies. The adjustments, effective from April 2026, aim to stabilise the value of the rupiah.

Bank Indonesia noted that the rupiah exchange rate on 16 March 2026 was at Rp 16,985 per US dollar, weakening 1.29 per cent compared with the end of February 2026.

Firstly, Bank Indonesia adjusted the cash foreign exchange transaction threshold against the rupiah. “Through adjusting the cash foreign exchange purchase threshold against the rupiah from USD 100,000 per participant per month to USD 50,000 per participant per month,” said Perry during a press conference on Tuesday, 17 March 2026.

Bank Indonesia also increased the Domestic Non-Deliverable Forward (DNDF)/Forward selling threshold from USD 5 million per transaction to USD 10 million per transaction. Subsequently, the buying and selling swap thresholds were raised from USD 5 million to USD 10 million per transaction.

Alongside foreign exchange transactions, Bank Indonesia strengthened the provisions for reporting foreign exchange flows. Perry stated there would be an adjustment to the document support threshold requirement for outgoing foreign currency transfers from USD 100,000 to USD 50,000.

Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia Thomas Djiwandono added that the reduction in the foreign exchange purchase threshold aimed to strengthen the purpose of cash foreign exchange purchases. “So that transactions are conducted based on real needs or underlying requirements and are not speculative in nature,” said Thomas.

Meanwhile, according to Thomas, the increase in the DNDF and Forward transaction selling threshold aimed to provide greater flexibility for market participants in providing liquidity in the domestic foreign exchange derivatives market. He stated that Bank Indonesia would provide a one-month transitional period to ensure smooth implementation of the policy.