Money and Payments in Bali

Part of the Bali travel guide — see every topic in All Bali Guides.

Bali runs largely on cash, with a fast-growing digital payment layer on top. The currency is the Indonesian rupiah, quoted in numbers large enough that visitors routinely miscount zeroes — a common and expensive mistake. The practical system is: draw cash from bank ATMs, use cards at hotels and better restaurants, use QRIS or a ride-hail wallet for small digital payments, and keep small notes for everything from parking to temple entry. The specific traps are worth knowing in advance.

Cash and ATMs

Notes run from 1,000 to 100,000 rupiah, and the 10,000 and 100,000 notes are similar enough in colour to confuse. Use ATMs attached to a bank branch, a supermarket or an airport rather than free-standing street machines, and cover the keypad; skimming happens. Most ATMs charge a fee of 25,000–50,000 rupiah on top of your own bank's charge, so withdraw the maximum rather than making several small withdrawals. Machines dispense either 50,000 or 100,000 notes and the machine tells you which — the 50,000 ones are more useful.

Money changers

This is the classic Bali scam and it still works. An unlicensed changer advertises a rate noticeably above the market, then short-counts you during a fast, distracting count, or applies a "commission" at the end. Use a licensed changer with a proper shopfront, a counting machine and a printed receipt — the recognised chains are fine — or simply use an ATM. Count the money yourself, slowly, before handing over your currency, and do not accept a count done into a drawer or out of your sight.

Cards and digital payments

Cards are accepted at hotels, malls, supermarkets and mid-range restaurants upwards, usually with a two to three per cent surcharge that is often not disclosed until the bill. Warungs, markets, small shops, parking and temple entries are cash only. QRIS — Indonesia's unified QR payment standard — is now nearly universal among small merchants and works with local wallets and, increasingly, with some foreign apps. Grab and Gojek wallets are useful for transport, food delivery and a growing number of shops.

Costs and tipping

Budget for the extras: the tourist levy introduced in 2024 is payable per person on arrival; restaurant bills marked "++" add roughly fifteen to twenty-one per cent in tax and service; ATM fees; and parking attendants at 2,000–5,000 rupiah everywhere. Tipping is not traditional but is now expected in tourism: ten per cent in a restaurant without a service charge, 20,000–50,000 for a driver or spa therapist, and a small note for a porter. Keep a supply of 5,000, 10,000 and 20,000 notes, because change for a 100,000 is genuinely scarce in villages.

Money and Payments at a glance

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