Indonesia mulls digital rupiah: report

The central bank is looking at how it will help monetary policy goals.

The Indonesian central bank is planning to launch a digital rupiah currency and is looking at which platform to use, reports Reuters.

The country has put advancing digital payments as one of its main policy priorities, after seeing a strong rise in online transactions during the coronavirus pandemic. Transaction frequency in digital banking platforms jumped 60.3% annually to more than 570 million times in April, while value rose 46% to reach $217.4b, Bank Indonesia (BI) data showed.

BI is now examining how the digital rupiah will help it meet its objectives on monetary policy and payment systems, including by assessing the readiness of the financial infrastructure, its governor Perry Warjiyo said.

BI will regulate the digital rupiah the same way it regulates banknotes and card-based transactions, he added.

Indonesia will join other Asian central banks, such as Hong Kong, Thailand and South Korea, who are working towards launching CBDC pilot programmes. China began a city-wide testing of digital yuan last year.

Here’s more from Reuters.