PT Central Intervest Corporation exchanges foreign banknotes on Jalan Pintu Besar Selatan, in the old commercial quarter of Kota, a short walk from the historic banking district.
Customers are sometimes surprised, occasionally irritated, when a money changer asks for identification or wants to know where a large sum came from. Those questions are not suspicion of you. They are the ordinary obligations of a licensed business — and they are a large part of what separates a licensed counter from the kind of operation you do not want your money anywhere near.
Select a card to turn it over. Every one of these questions is asked at licensed exchange businesses, not only here, and every one of them protects the customer as well as the business.
If somebody claiming to represent a money changer asks for any of these, you are not talking to a legitimate business.
It usually sounds harmless. A friend of a friend, a new colleague, somebody met online, a "job" that involves receiving money and changing it. They cannot do it themselves for some reason, and there is a small payment in it for you.
The person who walks to the counter is the person whose identity is recorded. If the money turns out to be the proceeds of fraud or crime, the questions come to you — and "somebody asked me to" is not a defence that makes those questions go away.
Foreign banknotes exchanged for rupiah at the rate and charges displayed at the counter at the time.
Foreign currency against rupiah for travel and trade. Ask about less common currencies before making the journey.
Welcome, with identification and a plain answer about the source and purpose. Telephone ahead so the currency is available.
Often we will not, and requirements depend on amount and circumstances. Where we do ask, it is an obligation rather than a judgement. Bring identification anyway — it makes every transaction quicker.
That is worth thinking about. A counter that never asks is a counter anybody can use for anything, and that is not a place where your own money is safest.
Non-bank money changers in Indonesia operate under authorisation from Bank Indonesia, which publishes the list of licensed businesses. Look the company name up yourself rather than relying on a number displayed anywhere, including here.
Exchange only at licensed counters, count and check the notes before you leave, keep your receipt, and never exchange in the street. A rate better than every counter in the city is the advertisement for the problem.
We handle customer information confidentially. Licensed businesses do have legal reporting obligations in defined circumstances; those exist in every regulated exchange business and are part of what makes the licensed sector safer than the alternative.
Yes. Rates move during the day, so an indication by telephone is exactly that — the rate that applies is the one displayed when you exchange.