Money Transfer

[natxwong]

Does anyone have experience with money transfer to Indonesia?
What to generally watch out for or recommendations on provider to use?
I looked into transferwire, which seem reasonable, but they only exchange in the local currency of the country, and the resort uses a currency different than the local currency.

 

[Dan]

My credit union would do whatever currency that I ask them to wire money to. Although the resorts or LOBs are in Indonesia, the owners could have bank account in Indonesia or in Germany or in UK, etc. The wire transfer could be in Rupiah or USD or in Euro, depending upon what they want to get paid with. My credit union will automatically calculate the exchange rate for me. I just confirm the rate with the market rate to make sure they are not short me on the exchange rate & challenge them if they are off too much. Mostly they are within $10-20 so I won't make a fuss about it.

 

[anenomefishman]

Does anyone have experience with money transfer to Indonesia?
What to generally watch out for or recommendations on provider to use?
I looked into transferwire, which seem reasonable, but they only exchange in the local currency of the country, and the resort uses a currency different than the local currency.

i had to send a wire to pay for last resort we were at in indonesia. i sent the wire in USD.

 

[Luko]

A couple of years ago my bank sent amoney transfer that was lost in the indonesian intermediate banks maze. It took 3 months to recover the amount.
Hence my policy is : NO TRANSFER to Indonesia.
If the operation is not happy witth it or doesn't propose other types of payment like credit card or Paypal, then I change the operation.

 

[gekodivebali]

Luko is correct... Be extremely careful when transferring money to Indonesia. Any mistake in the information provided for a bank transfer can result in lost money. This include middle names, whose omission will result in a no-go.
Paypal is great, but they do charge 4.75%, which can amount to a lot on bigger transfers. Unfortunately, Paypal does not include IDR in its basket of currencies...

All cash transactions made in Indonesia should be made in the local currency. Several dive centres got governmental notices for having their published rates in other currencies.

 

[LembehR&Critters]

When making a Bank Transfer please instructs your bank - DO NOT USE AN INTERMEDIARY BANK - or you may incur additional charges.

 

[billt4sf]

Luko is correct... Be extremely careful when transferring money to Indonesia. Any mistake in the information provided for a bank transfer can result in lost money. This include middle names, whose omission will result in a no-go.

WOW THAT's Scary I did not realize that. When I make a bank transfer, the bank always calls me to verify the information. (It's somewhat amusing to hear them attempt to pronounce the Indo names). Usually I have not taken these calls seriously -- henceforth I will do so, along with extra EXTRA care about the wiring instructions.

- Bill

 

[Wisnu]

Usually, for USD or Euro the operator will be asking to transfer to their foreign account. For Rp. they will ask to transfer to their Indonesian bank account, typically to high reputable banks such as Mandiri, BNI48, HSBC or BCA. As other said, ask your bank not to use intermediary bank.
I can't count how many time (could be hundreds) I did bank transfer from my foreign account to my Indonesian bank account (in USD or Euro) and so far no single problem.

 

[Johanan]

Have you considered Transfer Wise? I don't know whether they transfer in currencies other than local, but otherwise I have had a really good experience with them.