The bitcoin criptocurrency is becoming more and more popular and is currently accepted for official use in many countries. But it is still growing. Today the leaders in bitcoin turnover are the USA and China. Large population and good economic infrastructure provide for steady growth of the use of bitcoins. These countries also help introducing this cryptocurrency in other countries, and the process is going well. In Asia there are a number of countries with large population that started using bitcoins as a method of payment for goods and services, however their struggling economies slow down the introduction of bitcoins. Most importantly, it’s India and Indonesia. In Indonesia, bitcoin cryptocurrency was recognized a few years ago and this payment method has already found its clients. 

However, only 40% of Indonesia’s population of 250 million people have access to banking. It’s a very low ratio, as in the developed countries this ratio is often close to hundred per cent. This is one of the factors that slow down the introduction of bitcoins in Indonesia.

What is the level of availability of purchases using Bitcoins in Indonesia?

Indomaret, the large Indonesian supermarket chain, has recently executed an agreement with a bitcoin website to accept this cryptocurrency in their stores and to allow deposits to bitcoin wallets in their stores. This is a huge achievement for bitcoin and a significant milestone in the process of cryptocurrency introduction in Indonesia. 

How can one deposit and pay with bitcoins in Indonesia?

In order to deposit money to your bitcoin wallet you may come to one of Indomaret supermarkets, as it was noted above, and make a deposit with rupiah, the Indonesian national currency. If you came from abroad and only have dollars in cash, you’ll have to first exchange them into rupiah before making a deposit to your bitcoin wallet. There are two exchanges in Indonesia that allow such transactions: araBit and tuker.in.

As for purchases, you can not only make them in the abovementioned supermarket chain, but also in many online shops, which are also quite popular. This includes various goods, from food and commodities to payment for hotel bookings and other services. If necessary, you can even order products from overseas e-commerce sites, however in this case you’ll have to carefully consider the methods of delivery of your products.

What is the Indonesian Central Bank position regarding payments with bitcoins?

Official bank representatives, particularly it’s director, expressed an opinion that there is no need to prevent the distribution of this currency in Indonesia, as it can positively affect the improvement of country’s economic situation. However, banks also have no intention to actively support the development of bitcoin, as its use may lead to the loss of money for their clients. They explain that there are lots of exchanges that offer to exchange the currency, to make purchases with it or to earn with it, while being fraudulent in their nature. 

According to experts, however, Indonesia can use bitcoins safely, without any risk of loosing money, if they make transactions on reliable and trustworthy exchanges, as this currency is the least prone to inflation. 

Bitcoin steadily increases its popularity, and the more people join the system, the more profitable it becomes to make various transactions. Therefore we can expect that in a few years bitcoin will become a sound and official payment method in Indonesia, as well as in many other countries.