As I’ve been traveling and living in Indonesia for a few years now, I want to share some of the things I’ve learned that make getting around — and getting by — a lot easier. Think visa options, SIM cards, and how to keep your money from disappearing in fees. In this post, I’m focusing on one of the most practical ones: avoiding high transaction costs when taking out cash.
If you’re using a debit or credit card from your home country at an ATM, you’re likely paying a lot for it, sometimes up to €10 per withdrawal on a credit card. There’s a better way.
Revolut
Before I left, someone recommended I open a Revolut account. Best advice I got.
Revolut is a digital banking app and an all-in-one platform. It offers regular bank accounts in multiple currencies, but also covers crypto, investments, budgeting, and travel insurance. You pick the membership tier that works for you.
Personally, I only use it as a regular bank account. It comes with a Mastercard, so you can pay pretty much everywhere worldwide. But the real win? With the free account, you can withdraw up to €200 per month from ATMs, across a maximum of 5 withdrawals, with zero transaction fees. Upgrade your plan and that free withdrawal limit goes even higher.
Opening an account is free. You can link it to your salary or regular payments, or simply top it up when you need it.
Wise
Where Revolut tries to do everything, Wise is laser-focused on cheap and fast international transfers. It also lets you hold multiple currencies without extra costs and comes with a Visa card.
Just like Revolut, Wise lets you withdraw €200 per month for free. After that, a fee of around 1.75–2% applies per transaction, still far cheaper than most banks.
I use Wise for both ATM withdrawals and sending money. The app is straightforward, and the savings add up fast.
My Recommendation: Use Both
Open accounts with both Revolut and Wise. That way, you have both a Mastercard and a Visa card, and you can withdraw up to €400 per month in total, completely fee-free. It takes maybe 20 minutes to set both up and it’s genuinely one of the best things you can do before traveling. Once your account is set up, you get instant access to a virtual card, however, in Indonesia it’s usually not possible to pay with these, so you’ll want the physical card. That can take up to a week to arrive depending on your country, so make sure to request it on time before your trip.
Bonus: Pay Like a Local with GoPay
Not a big fan of cash? In Indonesia, most payments in shops, restaurants, and warungs are done by scanning QR codes. The system is called QRIS, and it’s everywhere.
As a foreigner you can’t open a local bank account, but you can open a GoPay account — a digital wallet that plugs right into the QRIS system. You top it up with your credit card (free or a small fee depending on the amount), and from there you can scan QR codes to pay or show your own code to receive payments. It works even at the smallest warung with no card machine. GoPay also lets you transfer money directly to Indonesian bank accounts, which is incredibly useful. Download the GoPay app from the App Store or Google Play and set up your account in minutes. You don’t need an Indonesian phone number. your own local number works just fine, as long as it can receive SMS verification codes.
There are two account options: basic and premium. The basic account lets you pay via QRIS but comes with limited balance caps and no bank transfers or cash withdrawals. To make full use of GoPay, it’s recommended to unlock the premium option, which is completely free. All you need to do is register with your passport. GoPay will then start a short verification process, and once you’re verified, you’re ready to pay like a local!
Not sure how it works in the app? We made a short tutorial video showing you exactly how to pay via QRIS in GoPay, check it out below!
