After the COVID-19 pandemic ended, non-cash transactions became more prevalent, and more merchants and small outlets were using Qris payments. Apparently, this has become a liability for some merchants who refuse cash payments.
This has invited pro and con responses on various social media. Some are in favour because Qris payment is more practical and does not require change, thus making cashiers more comfortable and shorter to serve buyers.
However, many are also against it, stating that paying with cash is still a habit of many people, especially the elderly or those who do not have adequate gadgets for digital payments.
Due to these pros and cons, Bank Indonesia has taken a firm stance.
Bank Indonesia (BI) prohibits merchants who are still caught refusing payments using cash or coins from their buyers and only provides digital payment options.
The board of governors of Bank Indonesia reiterated this prohibition because a number of shops or merchants still only allow customers to pay with QRIS or other digital payment tools.
Bank Indonesia Deputy Governor Doni Primanto Joewono conveyed this following the phenomenon of a number of merchants who only accept non-cash payments. Doni explained that this obligation is regulated in Law Number 7 Year 2011 on Currency.
Article 23 of the law states that everyone is prohibited from refusing to accept a rupiah intended as payment or settling transaction obligations in Indonesian territory.
“It is clearly stated that everyone is prohibited from refusing to accept rupiah as payment in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia. So, in principle, actually, cash and non-cash are ways of paying, still in the form of rupiah,” said Doni in a press conference on the results of the BI Board of Governors Meeting, Wednesday, October 16, 2024, as reported by Bisnis.com.
Doni ensured that BI continued to print the rupiah in cash, both on paper and metal. To date, the total Circulated Cartel Money (UYD) has grown 9.96% (yoy) to IDR 1,057.4 trillion.
“So we are still printing cash, and it is still growing. So, in order to help us, merchants are required to accept cash,” said Doni.
