Steps taken by Bank Indonesia to strengthen the sovereignty of the national payment system
Bank Indonesia continues to strengthen the sovereignty of the national financial system through various strategic policy measures aimed at reducing dependence on the US dollar-based international payment system.
A key step is cooperation with the Chinese central bank (People’s Bank of China) via a local currency transaction mechanism.
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This system enables bilateral trade with direct conversion between the rupiah and the yuan, without the need to use the US dollar as an intermediate currency.
This method lowers transaction costs, reduces the risk of exchange rate fluctuations, and increases trade efficiency between the two countries.
Domestically, Bank Indonesia is also promoting the strengthening of the digital payment system through the implementation of the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) and the National Payment Gateway (GPN).
These two systems are designed to make transactions simpler, faster, and more efficient, while simultaneously strengthening the national payment infrastructure.
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These developments have also increased the use of the domestic payment system in various economic sectors. The value of digital transactions via the national system has reached thousands of trillions of rupiah annually, which benefits businesses, particularly SMEs, through more efficient transaction costs and broader access to payment methods.
On the other hand, the development of a national payment system is seen as a way to reduce reliance on international payment networks such as Visa and Mastercard for various domestic transactions. This situation has created a new dynamic in competition within the global payment sector.
Some also link this development to the increasing attention of the United States regarding Indonesian payment policy.
However, claims that President Donald Trump directly pressured Indonesia to stop using QRIS still require official evidence and confirmation.
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To date, the issue has been raised more often in the context of trade relations and trade barriers than a direct order to stop using QRIS has been issued. ***tok
