Bank Indonesia, the central bank of Indonesia plans to launch CBDC (central bank digital currency), digital rupiah, Reuters reported. The country will capitalize on a growing interest in the mobile banking system by launching its own digital token.
Governor Perry Warjiyo said that Indonesia’s central bank is planning to launch a digital Rupiah currency as a legal payment instrument in Indonesia. The central bank of Indonesia said it needs about two years to complete a study about the possibility of issuing Digital Rupiah currency.
Once issued, the digital rupiah will be a legal payment instrument for Indonesia. BI will look to regulate digital rupiah in the same way it regulates cash and digital transaction. The central bank doesn’t have a timeline yet on when it will issue it. It also remains unknown which platform BI will use for its Digital rupiah.
During this COVID-19 pandemic, Indonesia, Southeast Asia’s biggest economy has reportedly increased digital banking transactions. Amid accelerated digital transactions, Indonesia has put advancing digital payments as one of its main policy priorities.
The country transaction frequency in digital banking platforms rose over 60% on an annual basis to more than 570 million times in April. BI data shows that value also rose 46% to around 3114 trillion rupiahs, converting to approximately $217 billion.
In Indonesia, cryptocurrencies as a payment method are banned. Earlier this month, the government of Indonesia said that it is planning to tax profit on crypto trading.
As of today’s news Indonesia joins a list of Asian countries that are exploring CBDC. Thailand, Hongkong, South Korea are currently working towards launching the CBDC program. China is a little ahead of most countries worldwide and is nearing the digital Yuan launching soon.
