What's the cheapest way to withdraw cash rupiah (IDR) in Bali using a foreign bank card?

Based on 1 discussion with 3 participants · Last activity: 23 days ago

TL;DR

ATM withdrawals cost around $2 in fees per transaction plus hidden losses from double currency conversion, and single-transaction limits are often capped around 2 million IDR (roughly $130), especially at airport ATMs. Cards are more convenient than money changers but not necessarily cheaper — you'll still need some cash.

What the community said

Avoid withdrawing at airport ATMs — the limit there is only around 1.5 million IDR, and Rosselkhozbank's UnionPay withdrawal fee can be 199–299 RUB per transaction. It's more cost-effective to pay by card directly than to withdraw cash at the airport.

Airport: ~1.5M IDR limit, 199-299 RUB fee

Most local (non-airport) ATMs in Bali don't charge an extra withdrawal fee. If a fee does apply, the ATM warns you before dispensing cash, and you can cancel the transaction without losing money.

Local ATMs: usually no extra fee

At a regular (non-airport) ATM, you can't withdraw more than 3 million IDR in a single transaction. There are unconfirmed rumors of ATMs with a 5 million IDR limit, but no one has been able to verify this.

Withdrawal limit: up to 3M IDR per transaction

For Rosselkhozbank UnionPay cards, cash withdrawals at Bali ATMs carry a fixed 250 RUB fee: typical ATM withdrawal limits are below the amount at which the fee would be calculated differently.

Rosselkhozbank UnionPay — 250 RUB fixed fee ↗ link in original

Holders of UnionPay cards should check with their issuing bank in advance about the exact withdrawal fee and maximum cash limit for Indonesia — terms vary a lot between banks, especially for withdrawals in the 1-10 million IDR range.

UnionPay card, 1-10M IDR limit

One traveler clarified their case: the actual charge came out to about $54 per transaction. The bank shows the fee separately in the SMS notification (around 1.2%), but factoring in the exchange rate and double currency conversion, real losses end up higher than advertised.

~$54 per transaction

Exchanging cash at a money changer instead of withdrawing by card resulted in even bigger losses — in one example the difference was over $2 more expensive than using a card, despite the ATM fee.

money changer $2+ more expensive

The ATM cash withdrawal fee is around $2 per transaction, not the $0.05-0.10 that some travelers mistakenly expect.

~$2 fee per transaction

Withdrawing more than 2 million IDR (~$130) in a single transaction is often not possible, especially at airport ATMs — there's a per-transaction limit.

~2M IDR (~$130) per transaction limit

Paying by card at most places in Bali adds a surcharge of about 3% of the purchase amount.

~3% card payment surcharge

Converting your home currency to rupiah usually goes through an intermediary currency (typically USD), which further worsens the final exchange rate.

double currency conversion