In the midst of a digital transaction boom in Indonesia, governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo said on Tuesday that the central bank is planning to launch a digital rupiah currency and is deciding which platform it will use.
BI plans in the future to issue a central bank digital currency, digital rupiah…as a legal digital payment instrument in Indonesia.
Perry Warjiyo, Governor of Bank Indonesia
BI has found that the transaction frequency in digital banking platforms increased by 60.3% on a yearly basis to over 570 million times in April, with value increasing by 46% to reach $217.4 billion.
BI is currently checking to see how digital rupiah would help progress its objectives on monetary policy and payment systems, such as assessing the preparedness of the financial infrastructure.
Seeing that online transactions are growing popular during the COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia started prioritizing the advancement of policy for digital payments.
Warjiyo added that the BI will be regulating the digital rupiah the same way it does for regular bank notes and card-based transactions.
Currently, Indonesia prohibits the use of cryptocurrencies in transactions. However, crypto trading is allowed.
