How to Send Money From Indonesia to Another Country?

Update 2021: When I wrote this article, it was not possible to send money from Indonesia to another country using Transferwise (now Wise). The company has improved its offer and this option is now available. You can check here for more details: Wise.

While it is relatively easy to send money from abroad to Indonesia, it can be more complicated to do the opposite: To send money from Indonesia (IDR) to another country with a different currency.

Since my salary is paid in rupiah on an Indonesian bank account, I often have to send money back to France and I've used several methods to do so.

In the article below, I will give you my best recommendations based on my personal experience. I've ranked the options from best to worst, depending on the speed of the transfer, its convenience, and its cost.

Transfez

This is by far the easiest way to send money from Indonesia to abroad. It is quite new so I've only started to use it recently and it has been a game-changer.

This app, available on both iPhone and Android, is licensed as a remittance company by both the Indonesian and the Australian government (Austrac), and it is regulated under the rules from Bank Indonesia. You may have heard of it under its company name, PT Indo Koala. It is actually quite famous as they have already handled over US$15 million to date.

It works a bit like Wise: They keep money in the banks of various countries and when you pay them with rupiahs, they just convert the money and make a local transfer from their own foreign bank account to yours.

It is really simple and you can do everything online in less than 10 minutes. Just enter the amount you want to send on their website Transfez.com, then you will see exactly how much you will get in the currency you choose.

(note that for your first transaction, your ID will need to be verified to comply with anti-money laundering regulations)

At the current rate, for a transfer of IDR 5,000,000 from Indonesia to France (euros), you should receive around 300 euros:

This is just around 5 euros less than the exchange rate provided by Google (see below), and it corresponds to an IDR 74,000 fee + a small mark-up on the exchange rate. To my knowledge, this is the cheapest price you can get for such a transfer.

The speed of the transfer varies depending on the country you are sending to. For Britain, Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong, and India, it takes just 15 minutes. For Brazil or South Korea, it's just a matter of a few hours, while for Europe, one working day is required before the money appears in your bank account.

The only problem with Transfez is that it does not allow transfers to every country yet. You can send to most of Europe, to Australia, to China, to India, to Japan, to South Korea, to Malaysia, to Singapore, to Thailand, and to many more, but not to the USA or Canada. Hopefully, they add this possibility soon.

Free Money Transfer

Use the promo code "100BARS" just before paying. Your first transaction with Transfez will be free of charge!

Bank Account

If Transfez doesn't send money to your country, your second-best solution is to simply transfer money from your Indonesian bank account to the one in your home country. You can do it online in some cases, but most often you'll need to go to an Indonesian bank branch.

You will need to provide the teller with your foreign bank's swift code and/or IBAN, as well as your account details.

I've done this a few times with my bank (BNI) and I paid around IDR 300,000 in fees for a 10 million rupiah transfer. This included the currency conversion fees, but not the receiving bank fees which were an additional 20 euros. You can also choose to let your home-country bank do the conversion, but it is usually cheaper to do it with your Indonesian bank.

Western Union

This last solution is for those who don't have an Indonesian bank account and who want to send to a country not serviced by Transfez.

You will need to go to a Western Union agent, then pay a fee of IDR 350,000, and there will be a hidden exchange rate fee (mark-up from the normal rates).

This is not really convenient and it is expensive, but it is fast and the service is reliable.

Conclusion: Best ways to transfer money from Indonesia to another country

At the moment, there is no doubt that Transfez is the best solution to transfer money from Indonesia to the world. It is much cheaper, more convenient, and faster. Also, with the current Covid-19 crisis, it is certainly safer as you can do everything online without the need to go to an office and to handle some paper bills. As I mentioned above, you can get your first transfer with them for free just by using the code "100BARS".

To download the Transfez app on your smartphone, click here. Before sending money, you can also check their live currency rate on their website. Don't forget to share it with your friends or anyone you think might be interested!