Mandatory Use of Rupiah

Bank Indonesia (“BI”) has issued Regulation No. 17/3/PBI/2015 on Mandatory Use of Rupiah Currency in Indonesia’s Territory (“2015 Regulation”).The 2015 Regulation is issued as part of BI’s strategy to strengthen the rupiah’s exchange rate, and to implement Law No. 7 of 2011 on Currency (“Currency Law”).

In essence, the 2015 Regulation obliges individual and corporation[1] to use rupiah currency for cash and non-cash transactions in Indonesia. Moreover, the 2015 Regulation also stipulates sanction for non-compliance as well as type of transaction in which other currency may still be used.