Taking Advantage: Indonesian Cashes In by Exchanging Brunei Dollars for Rupiah
Jakarta, CNBC Indonesia — Crowds gathered at currency exchange offices in Central Jakarta on Monday (19 October 2026). CNBC Indonesia observed that Valuta Inti Prima (VIP) Money Changer in Menteng was among the places chosen by customers.
At 11am Western Indonesian Time, almost all the counters at VIP Money Changer were busy with people looking to exchange their money. The activity came as the rupiah weakened against several foreign currencies, including the US dollar. According to Refinitiv data, the rupiah was trading at Rp18,045 per US dollar.
Some customers were selling US dollars and exchanging them for rupiah amid the currency’s weakness. Many others were selling different foreign currencies.
Zulkarnaen, 35, for example, chose to sell Brunei dollars for rupiah at a rate of Rp14,030. He said he was taking advantage of the higher buying rate for the Brunei dollar, which usually stands at around Rp13,000. He exchanged B$5,000.
At Rp14,030, Zulkarnaen received Rp70.15 million for his B$5,000. At a rate of Rp13,000, he would have received only Rp65 million.
“It’s more a case of taking advantage while the rate is up. It’s usually around Rp13,000 and something; now it’s Rp14,000, so I thought, why not?” Zulkarnaen told CNBC Indonesia on Monday (19 October 2026).
Zulkarnaen said the rupiah was currently weakening against other currencies. The upside, he said, was that the exchange-rate difference gave him money to put into savings.
PT Daffa Indo Valuta also said it had handled a high volume of currency exchanges that day. The Kwitang-based exchange office said it had bought a large amount of Singapore dollars, meaning many customers had chosen to sell the currency.
Its buying rate was Rp15,950 for S$1,000 notes and Rp14,000 for S$100 notes. The office said customers were selling Singapore dollars in large numbers because the currency’s exchange rate had risen significantly in recent weeks.
“This morning, we had about S$20,000 come in [for sale],” said Aris Permana, a supervisor at PT Daffa Indo Valuta.