ATMs & Cash in Bali: Fees, Safety, Best Banks

• Use ATMs at BCA, Mandiri, BNI, or BRI bank branches — these are safe and reliable.
• Avoid standalone tourist ATMs in booths, lobbies and small shops — they charge extra fees.
• BCA allows up to Rp 3,000,000 per transaction (~$188). Most others cap at Rp 1,500,000–2,500,000, and the exact limit for a foreign-issued card depends on the specific machine and card network.
• Indonesian bank ATM fee: Rp 25,000–35,000 per transaction (~$1.50–2.20) at most banks. Bank Mandiri now charges a flat Rp 50,000 "Access Fee" on foreign Visa/Mastercard cards, effective 22 February 2026.
• Withdraw in bulk (max per transaction) to minimise the per-withdrawal fee.
• Always check the machine for skimming devices — especially the card slot and keypad.

All the major banks below accept foreign Visa/Plus and Mastercard/Cirrus network cards; UnionPay is increasingly accepted too. AmEx and Diners Club are not usable at Indonesian ATMs. Figures below were checked in July 2026 against BCA and Bank Mandiri fee pages.

Why the Mandiri change matters: until early 2026, Mandiri and BCA charged roughly the same Rp 25,000 fee, so Mandiri's slightly wider branch network made it a reasonable second choice. Since Mandiri added its Rp 50,000 Access Fee for foreign-issued cards, BCA is now meaningfully cheaper per withdrawal for tourists — worth the extra walk to a BCA branch if one is nearby.

Per-transaction limits for foreign cards vary by machine and by your own bank's daily limit, which often binds before the Indonesian side does — the exact cap is always shown on screen before you confirm.

Canggu: BCA on Jl. Raya Canggu near the main crossroads. Also BCA and Mandiri near Batu Bolong beach. Avoid the white tourist-branded machines around Finn's Beach Club and Old Man's.

Seminyak / Kuta: Multiple BCA and Mandiri branches on Jl. Sunset Road and Jl. Legian. Shopping centres (Beachwalk Mall, Discovery Mall) have in-branch BCA ATMs that are reliable.

Ubud: BCA branch on Jl. Raya Ubud (main road), near the central market. BNI also on Jl. Raya Ubud. Avoid machines tucked into warung alcoves on the smaller streets.

Uluwatu / Bukit Peninsula: Fewer ATMs — the BCA and Mandiri in Jimbaran and Nusa Dua are your best bets. Carry more cash if going to remote Bukit beaches for a full day.

Sanur: BCA and BNI on Jl. Danau Tamblingan (main seafront road). Reliable and rarely empty.

Denpasar (Renon, Gatot Subroto): Bank branches dense here — best place to withdraw large amounts.

Nusa Penida: ATMs exist in Sampalan and near Kelingking/Crystal Bay areas but stock runs out on weekends. Withdraw in Bali before taking the ferry.

Card skimming (attaching a device to the ATM card slot to copy your card data) does happen in Bali, though it is rare at branch ATMs. The main risk is standalone tourist machines and older unmaintained ATMs in less-travelled areas.

Quick safety checks before inserting your card:

• Wiggle the card slot before inserting — a skimmer is a loose overlay, it will move. A real card slot is rigid.
• Check for a tiny camera or unusual plastic piece near the screen or above the keypad (for PIN capture).
• Use ATMs inside bank lobbies or inside shopping malls when possible — harder to tamper with and usually under CCTV.
• Cover the keypad with your other hand when entering your PIN — even if there is no visible camera, it is a good habit.

If you notice anything odd, do not insert your card. Go to a different machine and report it to the bank if possible.

Enable travel notifications on your home bank's app before arriving — instant alerts for any transaction make it easy to spot fraud early.

Acting fast limits the damage. In order:

1. Freeze the card in your banking app if it supports instant freezing (Revolut, Wise, N26, Monzo, most modern banks). This is faster than calling anyone.
2. Call your home bank's international/collect number to block the card fully and start a fraud dispute if needed. Save this number in your phone before you travel — you cannot look it up once your card and phone data plan are the problem.
3. If an ATM swallowed the card, contact the ATM operator's bank directly using the phone number posted on or near the machine; branch ATMs recover cards, unmanned standalone booths often do not.
4. File a police report (Polres/Polsek) if the loss involved theft — many home-bank fraud claims and travel insurance policies require one.
5. Have a backup payment method (second card, some cash, or a linked digital wallet) so you are not stranded while the block is processed.

For most travellers, ATMs give a better and more transparent deal than exchanging foreign cash, because an ATM withdrawal uses the real interbank rate (via your card network) rather than a marked-up buy/sell spread. But money changers still have a role:

• Use an ATM when: you need everyday spending cash, you have no large stash of clean foreign banknotes, or you want the simplest and safest option.
• Use a money changer when: you arrived with leftover USD/EUR/AUD cash you want to convert, or the nearest ATM is unreliable/empty and you already have foreign notes on hand.
• Only use a licensed money changer. In Indonesia these are called PVA Berizin (Pedagang Valuta Asing Berizin) and must display a Bank Indonesia licence certificate. Unlicensed booths in tourist strips are a well-documented short-changing scam — count your rupiah in front of the cashier, note by note, before you leave the counter.
• Avoid exchanging at the airport (rates are consistently the worst) and avoid changers offering rates that look too good to be true — that is usually where the short-changing trick (fast counting, distraction, folded notes) happens.

The total cost of an ATM withdrawal in Bali typically includes two layers:

1. Indonesian bank ATM fee: Rp 25,000–35,000 (~$1.55–2.20) at most banks, charged by the ATM operator and displayed before you confirm the transaction. Bank Mandiri is the exception since February 2026 at Rp 50,000 for foreign cards.
2. Your home bank's foreign transaction fee: typically 1.5–3% of the withdrawal amount plus sometimes a flat fee of $3–5. This varies by bank and card.

Example: withdrawing Rp 3,000,000 (~$188) from a BCA ATM with a fee-free travel card (Revolut, Wise) costs Rp 25,000 in local fees only — about $1.55 total extra. The same withdrawal at Bank Mandiri now costs Rp 50,000 (~$3.15) in local fees alone. With a standard high-street bank card charging 2.75% plus a $5 flat fee on top, total fees can reach $11–13. This is why card choice — and, since 2026, bank choice — matters.

Cards with low/zero international fees: Revolut, Wise, Starling, N26, Monzo, Charles Schwab (US). If you travel frequently, one of these saves real money.

It happens. High-season weekends (July–August, peak December) drain ATMs quickly in Canggu, Seminyak and Ubud. The two strategies:

• Go to a bank branch ATM early in the day (before noon) — these are restocked overnight and are least likely to be empty.
• Keep a 2-day cash buffer: Never let your IDR drop below Rp 200,000 (~$12.50) without knowing where the next ATM is. This is especially important on Nusa Penida, in Munduk, and in Amed.

If every ATM in your area is empty, go to the closest Indomaret or Alfamart — they sometimes offer cash back on card purchases (not always, ask the cashier) or can point you to the nearest stocked machine.

Can I use American Express or Diners Club?

AmEx is accepted at high-end hotels but works at very few ATMs. Stick to a Visa or Mastercard-network card for ATM access. Diners Club is essentially unusable in Bali.

Is it safe to use contactless card payments?

Contactless (tap-to-pay) is available at larger establishments and is safe — the terminal interactions use standard POS technology. Check whether your card issuer charges a foreign transaction fee on contactless payments; it is usually the same fee as chip-and-PIN.

Should I declare cash at Bali customs?

You must declare via the e-CD if you carry IDR 100,000,000 or more (about $6,250) or the foreign-currency equivalent. Most tourists are nowhere near this threshold. See our customs allowances guide for full details.

How much cash should I bring from home?

You do not need to bring cash from home — Bali ATMs work well and give better rates than airport exchange counters at home. If you like having a buffer, $100–200 USD in $50 and $20 bills is useful for the visa-on-arrival fee and first-day expenses before you reach an ATM.

What if my card is swallowed by an ATM, or lost, or stolen?

Indonesian ATMs sometimes retain cards after repeated wrong PIN entries. Contact the ATM operator's bank directly (the branch phone number is posted on or near the machine) and call your home bank immediately, using its international collect number, to freeze the card. Most banking apps (Revolut, Wise, N26, Monzo) let you freeze the card instantly from the app. Use branch ATMs rather than unmanned standalone booths — retrieval is much harder from the latter.

Are there Travelex or dedicated forex counters?

Travelex has a counter at Ngurah Rai Airport arrivals, but rates there are typically 8–12% below mid-market — use it only if you have leftover foreign banknotes to convert. For USD/EUR cash exchange in Bali, use licensed money changers (look for the "PVA Berizin" / Bank Indonesia authorisation signage) in Kuta or Legian, which give noticeably better rates than the airport.

Should I use a money changer or an ATM to get rupiah?

For most trips, ATMs win: you get the real interbank exchange rate and it is far harder for a machine to shortchange you. Licensed money changers can occasionally beat the ATM on large exchanges of clean, new USD/EUR banknotes, but only ever use a "PVA Berizin" (Bank Indonesia-licensed) money changer — unlicensed booths in tourist strips are a common short-changing scam.

• BCA — withdrawing rupiah with a foreign Visa/Mastercard at a BCA ATM (official)
• Bank Mandiri — foreign card transaction fees, including the Access Fee (official)
• OJK — Indonesia's Financial Services Authority (banking regulator)
• Bank Indonesia — the central bank, official homepage