The Reason Why Indonesia's Wealthy are Increasingly Saving in US Dollars

The weakening of the rupiah is prompting wealthy Indonesians to shift their wealth into US dollar savings. Data on deposit account distribution from the Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS) recorded the number of US dollar accounts reaching 8,918,054, a 58.2% increase year-on-year as of May 202lar. This figure accounts for 1.3% of the total number of Indonesian public deposit accounts.

This growth far outpaces the number of rupiah deposit accounts, which only rose by 8.4% during the same period, totalling 673,138,861 accounts or 98.7% of the total. According to the Chairman of the LPS Board of Commissioners, Anggito Abimanyu, the increase stems from the growth of dollar accounts within the tier of deposits exceeding Rp5 billion.

“The accounts above Rp5 billion are the ones that increased. It is a rise in class, and the volume has indeed increased,” said Anggito during a national seminar at the Perbanas Institute in Jakarta on Tuesday.

He clarified that the rise in dollar accounts is not due to the implementation of the new Export Proceeds (DHE) policy. That regulation, outlined in Government Regulation (PP) Number 21 of 2026, became effective on 1 June 2026, requiring 100% of natural resource-related DHE to be placed in state-owned banks (Himbara). Anggito noted that exporters’ dollars will only effectively flow in by September, following the new policy’s implementation.

Previously, the Chairman of the Indonesian National Bankers Association (Perbanas), Hery Gunardi, suggested that the rapid growth in dollar accounts was occurring alongside the application of the new DHE provisions. “There is indeed an increase. Because of the DHE, the amount entering Himbara banks is quite high,” Hery stated when met at the Menara Radius Prawiro building.

Consequently, the increase in dollar accounts is becoming common as exporters’ dollar placements in state-owned bank accounts rise. “It will certainly increase if export proceeds return, and as export proceeds come in, it will certainly increase,” said Hery, who is also the President Director of PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia (Persero) Tbk (BBRI).

Overall, the total nominal value of foreign currency deposits also increased by 18.7% year-on-year as of May 2026. The nominal value is equivalent to Rp1,714.76 trillion, representing 16.6% of the total nominal value of all Indonesian public accounts. Meanwhile, the nominal value of rupiah accounts reached Rp8,615.16 trillion, a double-digit increase of 12.4%, though this was below the growth rate of foreign currency accounts. This remains the majority share of all deposits, at 83.4%.

In the final trading session last week, Friday (18/9/2026), the rupiah exchange rate managed to recover slightly by the end of the day. Despite ending in the green, the rupiah had weakened by 0.82% throughout the week. According to Refinitiv data, the rupiah appreciated by 0.03% to end trading on Friday at Rp17,730/US$.