Bank Indonesia has readied Rp 188.2 trillion in cash to meet an expected increase in demand for banknotes during the Ramadhan fasting month and the Idul Fitri holiday.
ank Indonesia has readied Rp 188.2 trillion in cash to meet an expected increase in demand for banknotes during the Ramadhan fasting month and the Idul Fitri holiday, a 15.3 percent increase from last year’s cash allocation of Rp 163.2 trillion.
BI deputy governor Rosmaya Hadi said the central bank would be collaborating with 15 state-owned and private banks to distribute the banknotes through designated distribution points across the country.
“There are at least around 1,000 cash distribution points across Indonesia,” said Rosmaya.
One cash distribution point is located at National Monument (Monas) Park in Central Jakarta, which is open to the public on May 21-25. The central bank has designated 160 distribution points across Greater Jakarta.
Rosmaya said BI was also collaborating with 40 non-bank and other related stakeholders institutions, such as state-owned pawn operator Pegadaian, to distribute the banknotes.
Even though the government was promoting non-cash transactions, Rosmaya said that demand for cash during the Ramadhan and Idul Fitri holiday season increased every year.
“Each year in the last five years, cash use during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri composed 25 percent of the average annual cash use, while cash use during Ramadhan and Idul Fitri has grown about 13.9 percent annually," she said.
It is traditional for families to provide cash bonuses to household staff and gift money to children for Idul Fitri. Residents also provide annual holiday bonuses, or THR, to security guards and other employees of the housing complexes and neighborhood communities where they live, which are all provided in cash. (bbn)
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