The largest denomination is 100,000 – Seratus Ribu Rupia. The Indonesian people joke that the people on the largest note are laughing but as the value of the notes go down the people look less happy!
Before you arrive it is a good idea to learn how to count in Indonesian and how to roughly convert Rupia to your home currency.
100,000 rupia equals roughly $AUD10.00 and $US6.50.
If you obtain Rupia in your home country it will usually be in 100,000 rupia banknotes. Often in smaller places they may not always have change for a 100,000 rupia note. When you arrive we can provide you with smaller denomination notes to use in everyday life. ATM cash withdrawals using your home credit or debit cards can attract hefty fees so check with your bank and also make sure your card is enabled for transactions here. ATMs here have an English option. You can often select either 100,000 or 50,000 notes…. the lower denomination tends to be more practical for everyday life.
If it is possible, it is a good idea to have a 6 figure PIN. All the local banks have this and sometimes if you have a 4 digit PIN the machines here will just not accept them.
International transaction services such as WISE provide debit cards and often more reasonable fees. You can also get your money from your home country bank account and then converted fairly quickly.
If you are driving, many shops and other places will have a parking attendant who guide you and flag passing traffic as you are leaving. The usual fee is 5,000 Rupia, so it is a good idea to have a stash of this denomination notes. It is generally not expected to tip but if someone goes well out of their way to help you a gift of 5-10,000 Rupia will be very much appreciated.
In North Sulawesi the local people are very honest and decent. If you don’t understand the currency they will generally help you without ripping you off. If you pay them too much they will return the over-payment.
The counting goes 1-10…. Satu, dua. tiga, empat, lima, enam, tujuh, delapan, sembilan sepuluh.
Then 11-20… sebelas, duabelas, tigabelas……. until 20 which is dua puluh.
20-30 dua puluh satu, dua puluh tiga etc until tiga puluh.
30-40 tiga puluh satu, tiga puluh dua etc, etc.
Once you get to 100 it is seratus followed by the same as above then 200 is dua ratus and the same pattern continues.
Then you get to 1,000 which is seribu, dua ribu, tiga ribu etc.
Once you get to 1,000,000 and beyond, it is satu juta, dua juta, tiga juta etc.
You can practice the pronunciation of these numbers with many apps…. Google translate is pretty good.