APVA Records Foreign Exchange Transactions Ahead of the G20 Summit Increases 40 Percent

Illustration (Photo: Doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - The Chairman of the Village Consultative Body (BPD) of the Association of Foreign Exchange Traders (APVA), Ayu Astuti Dhama, revealed that foreign exchange transactions (Forex) rose quite high ahead of the peak of the G20 Summit in mid-November in Bali.

"The increase in foreign exchange transactions has reached around 40 percent, at various money changer outlets. Non-cash payment transactions with QRIS and other digital payments such as credit cards have also increased", said Ayu Astuti Dhama in a statement to the media, Thursday, November 3.

According to her, the increase is in line with the increasing number of envoys and tourists arriving on the island of the gods.

The largest forex exchanges include the US Dollar, EURO, Japanese Yen, Australian Dollar, Singapore Dollar, and Malaysian Ringgit.

Meanwhile, the increase in foreign exchange transactions through physical outlets is still widely used by tourists because there are still several obstacles. Among them, payments using QRIS or QR codes are still limited to Indonesian residents because they require population data.

"The use of payments with QRIS on a cross-border basis can only be done with Thailand", she continued.

During the G20 Summit, Bank Indonesia (BI) ensured the availability of money, both foreign currency and rupiah.

The availability of money at all Automated Teller Machines (ATM) is also guaranteed to be safe.

BI data shows that before the pandemic, the circulation of money in Bali was around IDR 18 to IDR 20 trillion yearly.

"Currently the availability of money is in the range of IDR 12 to 14 trillion per year. We prepare reserves of up to IDR 5 trillion annually", said the Head of Bank Indonesia Bali, Trisno Nugroho.

Banks also support the smooth implementation of the G20 Summit by setting up several ATMs in strategic places.

Bank Mandiri, for example, has set up two currency exchange outlets at I Gusti Ngurah Rai Airport, Denpasar.