Widespread Street-Side Money Exchange Services Ahead of Eid al-Fitr: Why Do People Not Go to BI?

JAKARTA — Ahead of Eid al-Fitr, the public’s demand for new banknotes typically rises sharply. The tradition of distributing Eid money to children, nephews/nieces, and neighbours leads many to prepare money in neat, fresh small denominations. For some, new notes are deemed more appropriate because they look clean, uncreased, and convey a more courteous impression to recipients.

This demand makes the exchange of new money a common sight ahead of Eid. Denominations Rp2,000, Rp5,000, and Rp10,000 are arranged neatly and ready to be exchanged for higher denominations. However, official currency exchange services are also provided by Bank Indonesia.

Nevertheless, roadside money exchange services remain popular among some who want to obtain new notes quickly and easily. Endra, one of the users of such a service on Jalan Asemka, says he prefers this method because the process is much faster than exchanging directly at a bank.

‘If you go to the bank, you have to queue for a long time, sometimes you have to come early, and there are always conditions,’ Endra told Kompas.com on Thursday. He says that the habit of exchanging new notes in places like this is usually done every year ahead of Eid, related to the need to give Eid money to family members and acquaintances.

‘Usually every year ahead of Eid we start exchanging money. It has become a habit too, because at my office and with colleagues we usually prepare THR and Eid money,’ he said.

‘But the main reason I choose the street option is fear of the bank running out of new notes after a long queue,’ he added.

Although Endra says he has tried BI’s services to exchange new denomination notes, he admits he had to queue for up to two weeks. ‘Actually I’ve tried queuing at BI offline and online, but you can get a queue that long, and you might still not get a share. I’m worried I won’t have time because I also work,’ he said.