Indonesia Rupiah Notes Stop Circulation

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Bank Indonesia has officially released news of retrieving four denomination of rupiah notes from public and stop their circulation as of 31 December 2008.

The Four denominations and notes are Rp10.000 that was issued in 1998 with the face of Pahlawan Nasional Cut Nyak Dhien, Rp20.000 issued in 1998 with face of Pahlawan Nasional Ki Hajar Dewantara, Rp50.000 issued in 1999 with face of Pahlawan Nasional WR Soepratman and Rp100.000 notes issued in 1999 with the face of Pahlawan Proklamator Dr.Ir.Soekarno and Dr. H. Mohammad Hatta made with polymer.

Here is the picture of the four Indonesia currency notes that will be retrieved from circulation:

“With the retrieval of these rupiah notes from circulation as of 31 December 2008, these notes will not be accepted as payment (legal tender),” Deputi Gubernur BI, S Budi Rochadi.

However, these notes are still accepted at Bank Indonesia and local Banks and can be exchanged for new notes of the same denomination or other smaller denominations. Local Banks will accept these notes until 30 December 2013 or 5 (five) years from now. As for Bank Indonesia, the notes can be exchanged for newer notes until 30 December 2018 or for 10 (years) from now.

“Bank Indonesia regularly retrieve old notes from circulation as these notes has been circulated for a long period of time and the conditions can be poor. Other reasons for this is to anticipate and follow new technologies in security features of currency notes”

Money changers overseas may still carry these old notes hence we share this information with you here so the public including travelers can be aware of which rupiah notes are legal tender and will be aware when exchanging currencies with money changers overseas.

If you are in Medan, then its time for you to go shopping and spend all your old rupiah notes before 31 December 2008!

Banks ATM in Medan

Banks, ATM and Money Changers in Medan Sumatera Utara Indonesia

You may need the bank details in Medan for your business or when you need to do some banking transactions while you are in Medan.

Banks in Medan are open Monday - Friday, from 08.15am - 03.15pm. There are many banks and money changers in Medan. Many of them are on, or nearby Jalan Brigjen.Katamso and Jl. Diponegoro.

International Banks in Medan

You will find most of the International Banks near Sun Plaza and Diponegoro area such as:

• Citibank opposite of Tiara Hotel
• ABN Amro beside Tiara Hotel
• HSBC near to Sun Plaza opening another branch in Sun Plaza
• Commonwealth Bank near to Sun Plaza
• UOB Singapore Bank at Uniland Plaza near to Medan Mall
• DBS Singapore Bank at Uniland Plaza near to Medan Mall
• Standard Chartered Bank at Hotel Danau Toba
• Diners Club at Hotel Dharma Deli

Indonesian National Banks in Medan

Bank BCA is the national consumer bank mostly used for Business transactions due to its wide network of ATM machines, internet banking and mobile banking. But not a good investment bank due its low rates.

• Bank Indonesia Jl.Balai Kota beside Aston Hotel and Dharma Deli Hotel
• Bank Central Asia (BCA) Jl.Diponegoro No.15; near to Sun Plaza
• Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI’46) Jl.Pemuda
• Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI) Jl.Iskandar Muda
• Bank Mandiri Jl.Balai Kota No.8;Ph.452 4900
• Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) Jl.Palang Merah
• Bank Sumut Jl.H.Zainul Arifin
• Bank Lippo Jl.Pemuda No.14 A-B;Ph.415 6622;Fax. 453 8410
• Bank International Indonesia (BII) Jl.Diponegoro No.18
• Bank Permata Jl.H.Zainul Arifin
• Bank Mestika Jl.H.Zainul Arifin
• Bank Kesawan Jl.Diponegoro

Local Banks with Foreign Ownership

There are also some local banks that have foreign ownerships such as:

• Bank Danamon ( Temasek Singapore ) - Diponegoro near to Sun Plaza
• Bank NISP ( OCBC Singapore ) - near to Sun Plaza
• Bank BII ( Temasek & Korean ) - beside Sun Plaza
• Bank UOB Buana ( UOB Singapore ) - near to Perisai Plaza
• Bank Niaga CIMB (  CIMB Malaysia ) Jl.Stasiun

ATM Machines

Maybe you need to withdraw some money for your travel?

You can find ATM machines in most of the banks. If for any reason, you need to access an ATM machine after banking hours, you can find them in most of the mall and plaza around Medan.

24 Hours ATM Machines

And if you need to access the ATM machines after shopping hours?

Then you may try to find them in hotels. We know that Novotel and Grand Angkasa has ATM machines in their lobby.

Apart from hotels, you can find many 24 Hours ATM machines in

• BCA Diponegoro (near to Sun Plaza),
• BII Diponegoro (beside Sun Plaza)
• Merdeka Walk Food Center opposite of Aston Hotel,
• Macan Yaohan Supermarket Pulo Brayan (Jl. Yos Sudarso) if you are in the vicinity.

Money Changers

It is best to have your Indonesian Rupiah ready before you arrive Medan or any parts of Indonesia. All major credit cards are also accepted in established hotels ,restaurants and shops. However, if you really need to get some change for transport and small local shops, there is a money changer right opposite of Polonia Airport if you need urgent change. It is located inside the convenience store of Petronas Petrol Station across the street from the airport.

Other Money changers in the city:

• King’s Money Changer Jl.Brigjen.Katamso
• Istana Valas Jl.Ir.H.Juanda Baru
• Deli Mega Valutindo Jl.Jen.Ahmad Yani No.94

Exchange Rates

Becareful of exchange rates when you withdraw cash with your foreign credit cards from ATM machines in Medan and when use your credit cards to pay for purchases. The banks may charge a higher exchange rates from what you may get from money changers.

However, as a travel tip. We noticed the banks or credit card companies usually charge 1% - 2% more than what you may get from money changers. Hence, you might as well use your credit card as a protection and insurance against your purchases.

Currency Converter

For the current exchange rate, you may use our currency converter on the right bar for a guide on how much Rupiah is right now against your own currency. The currency converter uses the daily updated rates from Yahoo Finance.