How to receive USD in Indonesia
To receive US dollars in Indonesia, give the payer the details of a USD current account (giro valas) at an Indonesian bank, which payers fund by SWIFT wire, or US account details from a provider that accepts Indonesian customers, which US payers fund by ACH. Exporters of goods have less choice: Bank Indonesia requires export proceeds to enter the Indonesian financial system through Indonesian banks by the end of the third month after the export month. This guide covers the rules, what to give the payer, arrival times, published fees and platform options.
- An Indonesian business can receive US dollars into a giro valas, a foreign currency current account at an Indonesian bank, or into US account details from a provider that accepts Indonesian customers.
- Bank Indonesia requires exporters to bring export proceeds into the Indonesian financial system by the end of the third month after the month of the export customs notification, through banks for non-natural resource exporters.
- Since 1 March 2025, non-oil and gas natural resource exporters must keep 100% of proceeds of USD 250,000 or more per export notification in a special account for at least 12 months.
- BCA publishes a USD 5 equivalent fee for a foreign currency inward remittance credited to a BCA foreign currency or rupiah account, and a reference format so the bank can match export proceeds to the export.
- Wise does not list Indonesia among the countries where customers can hold money, while Airwallex lists Indonesia as an eligible country of business registration onboarded by its Hong Kong entity.
- The Governor of Bank Indonesia stated in May 2023 that crypto is not a legal means of payment in Indonesia and that the rupiah is the only legal payment instrument.
How to receive USD in Indonesia: the short answer
Indonesian exporters of coal, palm oil, nickel, furniture, garments and coffee are paid in US dollars. So are software studios, design and marketing agencies, game developers and freelancers in Jakarta, Bandung, Yogyakarta and Bali who bill clients in the United States, Australia and Europe. All of them face the same practical question: what details should the client use to pay?
There are three main answers. A foreign currency current account, called a giro valas, at an Indonesian bank receives an international wire by SWIFT, the network banks use to send cross-border payments. US account details, a routing number and account number from a provider that accepts Indonesian customers, let a US client pay by ACH, the low-cost US domestic bank transfer system. And payment platforms collect into a platform balance that you later withdraw to an Indonesian bank in rupiah.
Indonesia's rules decide which of these an exporter of goods can use. Bank Indonesia (BI), the central bank, requires export proceeds to enter the Indonesian financial system through Indonesian banks within a set period, and natural resource exporters must also keep proceeds in a special account. Agencies, service firms and freelancers have more room to choose. This guide covers the rules, what to give the payer, arrival times, published fees, platforms and where a Helm account fits. For the account side of the same question, see our guide to a USD business account in Indonesia.
Bank Indonesia rules on money received from abroad
Three sets of rules matter to anyone paid in dollars from abroad.
The rupiah rule
Bank Indonesia Regulation No. 17/3/PBI/2015 requires the rupiah for cash and non-cash transactions in Indonesia. It exempts international trade transactions and foreign currency deposits held in banks. So an Indonesian company may invoice a buyer abroad in dollars and keep the dollars in a bank, but it may not invoice an Indonesian customer in dollars.
Export proceeds must come in through Indonesian banks
Export proceeds are called devisa hasil ekspor (DHE). BI's questions and answers on its Regulation No. 7 of 2023 state that exporters must bring DHE into the Indonesian financial system by the end of the third month after the month of the export customs notification, and that non-natural resource exporters must do so through banks. The export customs notification, the PPE, is the customs document that records the export, its date and its value. For a PPE dated in August, the deadline is 30 November.
BI's 2019 regulation on export proceeds adds a practical rule: a bank may credit a transfer of export proceeds only when the payment message carries the export information. That is why the buyer's payment reference matters, as the next sections show.
Natural resource exporters: the special account
Proceeds from natural resource exports, DHE SDA, follow Government Regulation No. 36 of 2023, as amended in 2025 and twice in 2026. It covers mining, plantations, forestry and fisheries.
| Rule | What it requires | Instrument |
|---|---|---|
| Threshold | Export value of USD 250,000 or more per PPE goes into a special DHE SDA account | PP No. 2 of 2026 |
| Non-oil and gas retention | 100% of proceeds for at least 12 months, from 1 March 2025 | PP No. 8 of 2025 |
| Oil and gas retention | At least 30% for at least 3 months | PP No. 36 of 2023, kept by PP No. 8 of 2025 |
| Where the special account sits | A foreign exchange bank that is a state-owned bank | PP No. 2 of 2026 |
| Conversion to rupiah | At most 50% of the export value on the PPE | PP No. 2 of 2026 |
| Mining under bilateral trade agreements | At least 30% for at least 3 months, at a foreign exchange bank BI designates, from 1 June 2026 | PP No. 21 of 2026 |
| Sanction | Suspension of export services by customs | PP No. 2 of 2026 |
Sources: Bank Indonesia, questions and answers on PBI No. 7 of 2023; Government Regulations No. 2 of 2026 and No. 21 of 2026 (Ministry of Finance legal database); Ashurst summary of PP No. 8 of 2025. As published on 29 October 2026. Confirm with your bank which version applies to each PPE date.
The DHE rules are tied to the PPE, which records goods leaving Indonesia. A software firm or agency paid for services has no PPE, so ask your bank how it reports service receipts to BI. Whatever the source of the money, the rupiah rule still applies to anything you then pay inside Indonesia.
The ways to receive US dollars in Indonesia
The table compares the routes. It is not a ranking, and many Indonesian firms combine two of them.
| Route | How the payer pays | What arrives | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Giro valas (USD current account) at an Indonesian bank | SWIFT wire through a correspondent bank | US dollars, net of bank charges | Exporters of goods, who must receive DHE through Indonesian banks |
| Rupiah account at an Indonesian bank | SWIFT wire | Rupiah, converted by the bank on arrival | Payments that will be spent in rupiah at once |
| US account details from a provider | ACH or Fedwire, as a US domestic payment | US dollars, held with the provider | Agencies, software firms and freelancers with US clients |
| Payment platform balance | Through the platform or a marketplace | US dollars in the platform, then rupiah on withdrawal | Freelancers and marketplace sellers |
| Trading affiliate outside Indonesia | ACH, Fedwire or SWIFT to the affiliate | US dollars in the affiliate's name | Groups that sell through Singapore, Hong Kong or US companies |
Source: Helm Editorial Team, from Bank Indonesia regulations and providers' published pages, as published on 29 October 2026.
Fedwire is the Federal Reserve's real-time system for US dollar payments, used for large or urgent amounts. A correspondent bank is a bank that holds an account for another bank and settles payments in its currency, usually in New York for US dollars.
The rupiah account route deserves care. Bank Mandiri states that when the currency sent differs from the account's currency, it converts the funds at its applicable rate. You lose the choice of when to convert. If you receive dollars often, open a giro valas and convert when it suits you.
An affiliate outside Indonesia does not remove the DHE rules for the Indonesian exporter. The affiliate buys from the Indonesian company, and the Indonesian company then receives its own export proceeds through an Indonesian bank.
What to give the payer
Send each client or buyer one set of details, in writing, and ask its accounts team to save them as a vendor record. Incomplete details are the main reason wires are delayed or returned.
| Field | For a wire to an Indonesian bank (SWIFT) | For US account details (ACH or Fedwire) |
|---|---|---|
| Beneficiary name | Company name exactly as registered at the bank; BCA and Bank Mandiri both state the name must match their records | Registered name exactly as on the account |
| Account number | The giro valas account number (BCA uses 10 digits) | US account number |
| Bank identifier | SWIFT code, for example CENAIDJA for BCA or BMRIIDJA for Bank Mandiri | Nine-digit routing number |
| Purpose | Purpose of the transaction, which BCA asks for | Invoice number and description |
| Export information | For export proceeds, the PPE and invoice details in the payment message; BCA publishes the format 1011//InvoiceNumber(AmountPaid) | Not used by US rails; the Indonesian exporter must still receive DHE through an Indonesian bank |
| Charges | OUR, so the full invoice amount arrives | Not applicable to ACH |
Sources: BCA, Inward Remittance (business); Bank Mandiri, Incoming Transfer; standard SWIFT and US payment practice. As published on 29 October 2026. Confirm your bank's exact inbound instructions.
The BCA format is for siMoDIS, the system Bank Indonesia uses to match export proceeds with export documents. A buyer abroad will not know it, so put the exact text the buyer should copy into the payment reference on your invoice. Our guide on how to receive USD from overseas buyers shows a full invoice layout.
OUR, SHA and BEN are SWIFT charge codes. OUR means the sender pays all fees and the full amount arrives. SHA means the fees are shared, so intermediary banks can deduct theirs from the amount in transit. BEN means the receiver pays all fees. Agree OUR in the contract, or build the expected deductions into your price. You can check a bank's code with our SWIFT code lookup.
How long a USD payment takes to arrive
Arrival time depends mainly on the rail the client uses and on the quality of the payment details.
| Rail | Published timing | What affects it |
|---|---|---|
| ACH to US account details | About 80% of ACH volume settles in one banking day or less; Same Day ACH accepts payments up to $1 million each | Client's bank cut-off and whether it sends Same Day ACH |
| Fedwire to US account details | Real-time gross settlement; the business day runs from 9:00 p.m. ET the previous day to 7:00 p.m. ET, Monday to Friday | US holidays and the client's bank hours |
| SWIFT wire to BCA | BCA states that funds can arrive the same day | Correspondent checks, missing export references, US and Indonesian holidays |
| Platform payment | Set by the platform | Platform's own payout schedule |
Sources: Nacha, "Significant majority of ACH payments settle in one business day or less" (28 August 2023); Federal Reserve, About the Fedwire Funds Service; BCA, Inward Remittance (business). As published on 29 October 2026.
Real-time gross settlement means each payment settles individually as it is processed. Jakarta is 11 hours ahead of New York in the US summer and 12 hours ahead in the US winter, so a Fedwire sent in a New York afternoon arrives during the Indonesian night. For a SWIFT wire, ask the client for the SWIFT confirmation once it is sent, so your bank can trace the payment if it does not arrive. BCA charges for traces, as the next table shows, so it pays to get the details right the first time.
What it costs: published fees
A dollar receipt can carry three charges: the client's bank fee, correspondent deductions on the way, and your own bank's or provider's charge. The table shows charges providers publish. Other banks set their own fees.
| Provider and item | Published charge |
|---|---|
| BCA: foreign currency inward remittance credited to a BCA foreign currency account | USD 5 equivalent |
| BCA: foreign currency inward remittance credited to a BCA rupiah account | USD 5 equivalent |
| BCA: investigation of a foreign currency inward remittance | USD 20 equivalent |
| Bank Mandiri: USD giro monthly administration fee | USD 5 |
| Bank Mandiri: USD giro minimum opening deposit and minimum balance | USD 500 |
| Payoneer: receiving into a non-local-currency receiving account | 1%, minimum $1 |
| Payoneer: withdrawal to a bank in the recipient's local currency | 1.2% to 4% |
| Payoneer: annual account fee | $29.95, only if the account receives less than $6,000 in 12 consecutive months |
| Grey: receiving USD by ACH | 0.8%, minimum $2, maximum $10 |
| Grey: currency conversion | 1%, capped at $6 |
Sources: BCA, Inward Remittance (business), fees effective 16 February 2021; Bank Mandiri, Giro product page; Payoneer, Fees (last updated 1 January 2026); Grey, published fees. As published on 29 October 2026. Correspondent banks may deduct their own charges.
Two costs sit outside every tariff. The first is the exchange rate when dollars become rupiah: a rate 1% below the market rate costs $100 on every $10,000 converted, more than any transfer fee. The second is correspondent deductions on SHA wires. For a natural resource exporter, a third limit applies: PP No. 2 of 2026 caps conversion of retained DHE SDA proceeds at 50% of the export value, so plan rupiah needs around that cap.
Wise, Payoneer and other platforms in Indonesia
The table records what each provider's own pages state about Indonesia, as published on 29 October 2026. Lists change, so check again before applying. It is not a ranking.
| Provider | What its own pages state | Point to check |
|---|---|---|
| Airwallex | Indonesia is an eligible country of business registration, onboarded by Airwallex's Hong Kong entity | Which account details the Hong Kong entity issues |
| Aspire | Indonesia is listed as a supported country of incorporation | Whether USD details are issued to Indonesian companies |
| Wise | Indonesia is not on Wise's list of countries where customers can hold money | Not available for holding balances |
| Payoneer | Serves 190+ countries and territories; fees published globally | Withdrawal fee to Indonesian banks shown in the account |
| Grey | Virtual USD account for freelancers in Indonesia, with conversion to rupiah | Written for individuals |
Sources: Airwallex eligible countries; Aspire, "What countries does Aspire support"; Wise, "Where do I need to live to hold money with Wise"; Payoneer, Fees and Receive Payments pages; Grey, freelancers in Indonesia. As published on 29 October 2026.
Before choosing a platform, check four points: whether the account details are in your own name, which rails they accept, whether you can hold dollars or only rupiah, and whether the platform serves companies or only individuals. An Indonesian exporter of goods should also ask whether withdrawals reach its Indonesian bank with the export references BI expects.
Stablecoins
Some foreign clients offer to pay in USDC or USDT, digital tokens designed to hold a steady value of one US dollar. The Governor of Bank Indonesia stated on 25 May 2023 that crypto is not a legal means of payment in Indonesia and that the rupiah is the only legal payment instrument. Crypto assets may be traded under the supervision of the Financial Services Authority (OJK), which took over on 10 January 2025. Stablecoins are not a route for goods export proceeds, which must arrive through Indonesian banks. Take advice before accepting them for any invoice.
Freelancers and service firms
Indonesian freelancers, agencies and software houses are paid for services, so the PPE-based DHE rules for goods exports do not describe their receipts. They still choose between the same routes: a personal or business USD account at an Indonesian bank, US account details from a provider, or a platform balance.
For a freelancer, the practical choice is usually between a platform that issues US account details, so clients pay by ACH, and a USD savings or current account at an Indonesian bank that receives SWIFT wires. Wise does not hold balances for Indonesian residents according to its own list, so freelancers look at providers such as Payoneer and Grey, which state they serve Indonesia. Compare the full cost on a typical invoice, including the conversion rate.
A freelancer who sets up a company, usually a limited liability company (PT), opens a giro valas with the deed of establishment, the Ministry of Law decree, the Business Identification Number (NIB), the corporate tax number (NPWP) and ID cards of directors and commissioners, according to the lists Bank Mandiri and CIMB Niaga publish. Keep contracts and invoices for every client, because banks may ask about large or frequent inward payments and the records support your tax filings.
Where a Helm account fits, and where it does not
Helm works with companies registered in Indonesia. Helm is a financial technology company, not a bank, and accounts are held with regulated partner institutions. A Helm account gives a company USD account details in its own name: a routing and account number that receives ACH, Fedwire and SWIFT. EUR details (IBAN, SEPA and SWIFT) and GBP details (sort code, Faster Payments and SWIFT) are issued in the company's own name too.
Helm cannot hold an Indonesian company's goods export proceeds. BI requires DHE to enter the Indonesian financial system through Indonesian banks by the end of the third month after the PPE month, and natural resource proceeds above the threshold must sit in a special account at a state-owned bank. A Helm account sits outside Indonesia, so it does not replace the giro valas that receives those proceeds with their export references. It fits these flows:
- A trading affiliate outside Indonesia that sells to US buyers, collects in USD and pays its Indonesian supplier, which then receives its own export proceeds in Indonesia.
- Foreign buyers of Indonesian goods that pay Indonesian suppliers in USD from their own account.
- Indonesian importers paying suppliers abroad by SWIFT, or by local rails in the supplier's currency where available, with the rate, fee and expected arrival shown before sending.
- Service income, where your bank confirms how BI reporting applies to receipts held abroad.
A named account manager answers review questions in writing within one business day, and trade finance, including receivables finance, is arranged case by case. Helm agrees pricing with each business in writing before the account opens, and shows the rate, the fee and the expected arrival before you confirm each payment. Exporters who also import can read our guide on paying Chinese suppliers from Indonesia.
Checklist for receiving USD in Indonesia
- Open a giro valas so dollars are not converted on arrival.
- Give buyers your exact registered name, account number, SWIFT code and purpose of payment.
- For goods exports, put the PPE and invoice references the bank needs in the payment reference.
- Track the DHE deadline: the end of the third month after the PPE month.
- Agree OUR charges for wires, or price in the expected deductions.
- Compare the conversion rate before you convert to rupiah.
Open a Helm account
USD, EUR and GBP accounts in your company's name, with a named account manager.
Open accountQuestions
How can a business in Indonesia receive US dollars?
A business in Indonesia can receive US dollars into a foreign currency current account (giro valas) at an Indonesian bank, which payers fund by SWIFT wire, or into US account details from a provider that accepts Indonesian customers, which US payers fund by ACH or Fedwire. Exporters of goods must receive their export proceeds through Indonesian banks.
Do Indonesian exporters have to bring USD proceeds into Indonesia?
Yes. Bank Indonesia requires export proceeds (DHE) to enter the Indonesian financial system by the end of the third month after the month of the export customs notification (PPE). Non-natural resource exporters must bring them in through banks.
Do Indonesian exporters have to convert dollars to rupiah?
Not as a general rule: proceeds can be held in a foreign currency account at an Indonesian bank. Natural resource exporters with proceeds of USD 250,000 or more per PPE must keep them in a special account, and PP No. 2 of 2026 caps conversion to rupiah at 50% of the export value.
What details does a foreign buyer need to pay an Indonesian bank account in dollars?
The buyer needs your company name exactly as registered at the bank, the USD account number, the bank's SWIFT code (for example CENAIDJA for BCA) and the purpose of payment. For export proceeds, BCA publishes a reference format, 1011//InvoiceNumber(AmountPaid), so the bank can match the payment to the export.
How much does BCA charge to receive a dollar transfer?
BCA publishes a fee of USD 5 equivalent for a foreign currency inward remittance credited to either a BCA foreign currency account or a BCA rupiah account, with fees effective from 16 February 2021. An investigation of a foreign currency inward remittance costs USD 20 equivalent.
Can Indonesian freelancers use Wise to receive USD?
Wise does not list Indonesia among the countries where customers can hold money. Indonesian freelancers commonly look at providers that state they serve Indonesia, such as Payoneer and Grey, and compare receiving, conversion and withdrawal fees on their own pages.
What is the DHE SDA special account?
It is the account natural resource exporters must use for proceeds of USD 250,000 or more per PPE under Government Regulation No. 36 of 2023, as amended. Since 1 March 2025, non-oil and gas exporters keep 100% for at least 12 months, and PP No. 2 of 2026 requires the account to be at a state-owned foreign exchange bank.
Can an Indonesian company receive export payments into an account abroad?
Goods export proceeds must enter the Indonesian financial system through Indonesian banks by the BI deadline, so an account abroad cannot be their final destination. Groups often sell through an affiliate abroad, which then pays the Indonesian exporter in Indonesia.
Can I accept USDT or USDC from a client in Indonesia?
The Governor of Bank Indonesia stated in May 2023 that crypto is not a legal means of payment in Indonesia and that the rupiah is the only legal payment instrument. Crypto assets are traded under OJK supervision, but they are not a route for export proceeds, so take advice first.
References
- Bank Indonesia: Questions and answers on PBI No. 7 of 2023 on export proceeds and import payments
- Bank Indonesia: Regulation No. 17/3/PBI/2015 on the Mandatory Use of Rupiah
- Ministry of Finance JDIH: Government Regulation No. 2 of 2026 (second amendment to PP No. 36 of 2023)
- BCA: Inward Remittance (business)
- Bank Mandiri: Incoming Transfer
- Payoneer: Fees
- Nacha: Significant majority of ACH payments settle in one business day or less (28 August 2023)
- Federal Reserve: About the Fedwire Funds Service
This guide is general information for businesses, not financial, legal or tax advice. Rules, fees and timings were checked against the sources listed on the review date and may change.