Mentawi Cash

i always use an atm, i hate trying to hide big stash of monies or going to traders. atms rip you off a bit too though, not a good return usually..
In Jakarta or Bali (if you get a chance) the rate seems best as smaller towns and popular tourist places like Padang some atms often run out of monies for a few days.
Bring some rupiah with you before you go (Aussie money trader) only enough for what you need untill you see indo money traders or atms. like for taxi from airport etc.

You can also change cash in the Banks at Padang, i recommend Bank BCA, there exchange rates are pretty good and no scams, just ensure the cash is good sized notes like $50 or $100 and in good condition as they can be fussy.

There is actually an ATM in Mentawai's at Bank Negara, in Tua Pejat (nth Sipora) although maybe it doesn't take Aussie cards?...I cant remember as have a Bank negara account and card (well technically its my Indo wife's).

There is also Western union facilities at the bank mentioned, where you can have some one wire you money if needed.

Otherwise if im going somewhere for a while where there is no bank/ATM etc , I get a heap of those little black plastic bags they always sell stuff to you in Indo in, I break up my money into equal amounts, for example 10 million, into five lots of Rp 200,000 put them in the black plastic bags and tie a knot and stash them in a variety of different places within my stuff well hidden, if you have more than one bag spread between them, even one in you board bag, that way if someone goes through your bags, you cant physically see the cash and if they work out your money is stashed in these bags, they will take a while to find them all or have to steal all your stuff, i also find its a good way to keep tabs on how much cash i still have, just count the bags rather than have to pull out piles of cash.

BTW. if your going to use an ATM try to find one that gives you up to 2.5 million in Rp 100,000 notes rather than the ATMs that only give you 1 million or so in Rp 50,000 notes, means you get charged less in transaction fees by your bank back in OZ and by the Indo bank, and your pile of cash is smaller easier to hide.

You are a legend Indo.

I'm going to do the black plastic bag thing for Europe this October to keep those pesky Gypsies at bay.

Be careful of the ATMs you use particularly those in convenience stores as they can be fitted with skimmers. The banks are usually OK. A guy I was travelling with a few years ago was skimmed and had a maximum withdrawal everyday while we were away from ATMs and the internet. I think it ran to $40,000. It was in a savings account and I never heard if the bank refunded it or not as he just took off home as soon as he realised what had happened. There is a lot to be said for doing all your transactions on a credit card as they offer greater protection against rip off and also tend to get reasonable to good exchange rates. If you have internet access you can also transfer the money onto the card account the night before you want it so there is never any significant cash in the card account if you are skimmed.

Indo...speakin of black plastic bags...are the Kuta/Indo traders still doin the bag thing...i.e. tight arse black bag...easy target white bag...to let other traders know?I spend as little time in Kuta as possible, before travelling out to further islands...but its the best place to get trinkets and t shirts for the kiddies. wouldn't want the swellnet community goin in blind

zenagain wrote:

You are a legend Indo.

I'm going to do the black plastic bag thing for Europe this October to keep those pesky Gypsies at bay.

:D

Talking Indo Banks and ATMs

Also Indo ATMs work different to Aussie ones, in Australia after a transaction the ATM will spit your card out first then give you your cash and receipt, but in Indo it gives you your cash first and receipt, and then from memory it then gives you an option of doing another transaction and you have to press no to get your card back, its quite easy to just walk away and forget your card if your either drunk or in a rush.

Ive lost three cards over the years from this, first time it happened was in Kuta when i was on the piss, local guys/girls wait outside the ATM knowing drunk westerners often forget there card, and once your gone race in there and press yes another transaction I lost about $600 AUD because they kept pressing another transaction and taking the highest amount possible until they had reached my daily limit of transactions.

The only safe guard if you forget and walk away is the ATM will spit your card out after something like 30 seconds, luckily the other two times this must of happened as i never lost anymore money, although i never got my cards back.

I havent done it for a few years but ironically the last time it happened was in Padang.

woohcs wrote:

Indo...speakin of black plastic bags...are the Kuta/Indo traders still doin the bag thing...i.e. tight arse black bag...easy target white bag...to let other traders know?I spend as little time in Kuta as possible, before travelling out to further islands...but its the best place to get trinkets and t shirts for the kiddies. wouldn't want the swellnet community goin in blind

Ha ha yeah i forgot all about this, as a grommet you were pretty cool if you got the black bags and you'd hang heaps of shit on your mates if they got a white bag.

I don't know if they still do it, i don't spend much time in Bali just a day or night in transit and i let my Indo wife do any shopping anyway.

Last time I went to Indo I took an unconventional approach due to my complete distrust of anything to do with plastic or electronic gizmos, by using cash only with a card as backup for emergencies.
The trip prior to that, Visa cancelled my c/card the very day day before I was due to fly out of oz. They had noticed an unauthorised transaction here in Oz and killed the card. They don't tell you when that happens. It was lucky I tried to use it and found out, which gave me about 4 business hours to find an alternative as it was to be my only source of money in Indo. I got a Travelex cash passport just in time.

So anyway, last time I just took a shitload of Ozzie cash and converted all of it into Rupiah right in the airport in Denpasar for a great exchange rate as soon as I got off the flight, at least as good as out in the street and very legit. That's all I used the whole time I was away, but had a card as backup too. At first I felt a little nervous having all that cash, but really you just protect it with your life the same as you do with your passport. Take small amounts when out and about and lock up the passport and cash together in a safe place.