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Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) launched the cross-border quick response (QR) payment linkage between Indonesia and Singapore. This linkage enables customers of participating financial institutions to make seamless cross-border retail payments using their existing mobile banking applications to scan QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) or NETS QR codes displayed by merchants in Indonesia and Singapore respectively.

Fintech products and services in Indonesia are mainly regulated by two government bodies, Bank Indonesia and the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

Bank Indonesia reportedly is banning Indonesian financial institutions from accommodating cryptocurrency as a means of payment or other financial services tools. The ban is based on existing laws "[Cryptocurrency] is not legitimate payment instruments under the Constitution, Bank Indonesia Law, and Currency Law," Governor Perry Warjiyo reportedly said in the virtual seminar on Tuesday, June 15. He also explained that to ensure financial institutions conform to this policy, the central bank will mobilize field supervisors.

The emergence of stablecoins is a growing concern for authorities worldwide including Indonesia as it could affect financial stability. Thus, if a central bank chooses to develop a central bank digital currency (CBDC) to tackle this problem, the design should conform to the country's characteristics and consumer needs. This study draws on experts' opinions from various economic agents and utilises an amalgamation of the analytic network process (ANP) and the Delphi method to show that the cash-like CBDC model is the most appropriate digital currency design for Indonesia, since it could enhance financial inclusion and reduce shadow banking in Indonesia.

Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) launched the Indonesia-Malaysia cross-border QR payment linkage on May 8, 2023. This follows from the successful completion of the pilot phase announced on January 27, 2022. The full launch sees the number of participating financial institutions, including non-banks, increase. This will enable more Indonesians and Malaysians to make instant retail payments in either country by scanning Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard or Malaysian DuitNow QR codes at physical stores or online merchants.​

Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) have commenced work on a cross-border QR payment linkage between Indonesia and Singapore as part of the ASEAN-wide payments connectivity effort. This linkage, which is targeted to be launched in the second half of 2023, will allow users to make instant, secure, and efficient retail payments by scanning the QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) or NETS QR codes displayed by merchants.

The Governor of the Bank Indonesia (BI) reportedly said that the central bank is planning to launch a digital rupiah and is assessing which platform it will use. BI is also examining how a central bank digital currency (CBDC) will help it meet its monetary policy and payment systems objectives, including by assessing the readiness of the financial infrastructure. The Governor said the rupiah will remain the only legally accepted currency for payment, and BI will regulate the digital rupiah the same way it regulates banknotes and card-based transactions.

Bank Indonesia (BI) has reportedly announced the start of a trial of cross-border QR code payments with Singapore. The project, first announced by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in August 2022, is aimed at allowing users to make instant, secure payments by scanning the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) or NETS QR codes displayed by merchants. BI deputy governor Filianingsih Hendarta reportedly has said that the project is halfway to completion with three-quarters of the beta testing completed.

The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) and Bank Indonesia announced the 21 shortlisted finalists for the G20 TechSprint CBDC challenge. The shortlisted teams now have until the end of August to complete their prototypes, which will then be judged by an independent expert panel convened by Bank Indonesia. Winners for each of the three categories will be announced in October ahead of the G20 Summit. Among the shortlisted were BitMint, R3, Ripple, S.e.A. (Stellar, eCurrency and ANZ), Bitt-IDEMIA, Crunchfish, and Giesecke+Devrient (G+D) Filia.

Bank Indonesia (BI) launched a consultation for the first phase of its three-stage Project Garuda, central bank digital currency (CBDC) initiative. The current consultation is the first of two wholesale CBDC iterations, focused on basic functionality, including integration with the real time gross settlement (RTGS) system, and covers banks and "wholesalers" who will be responsible for distributing a future retail digital rupiah. The digital rupiah will use a permissioned blockchain network. The second phase of the project will include the settlement of tokenized securities, as well as other wholesale use cases. The third phase will focus on retail CBDC. https://www.bi.go.id/en/rupiah/digital-rupiah/Documents/Consultative-Paper-Rupiah-Digital-BI.pdf

Everest, the decentralized digital payments SaaS provider, has partnered with BRI Remittance, a subsidiary of Bank Rakyat Indonesia, one of the country's largest banks.

Bank Indonesia and the Bank of Thailand launched a cross-border QR code-based retail payments linkage pilot between Indonesia and Thailand. Marking a key milestone in the ASEAN Payment Connectivity initiative, the full commercial phase will be launched in the first quarter of 2022. In the future, the service will be expanded to enable users in both countries to make real-time fund transfers by referencing the recipient's mobile phone number.

Bank Indonesia has reportedly been considering issuing a central bank digital currency (CBDC) since the start of 2021, as a tool to fight crypto, according to Juda Agung, an assistant governor at the central bank. He spoke in parliament while undergoing a fit-and-proper test to be named deputy governor. "We assume that people would find CBDC more credible than crypto. CBDC would be part of an effort to address the use of crypto in financial transactions."

G+D and the Official Monetary Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF) surveyed consumers' attitudes towards central bank digital currency (CBDC) in Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria, and the United States. The survey revealed sharp differences between consumers in developed countries, where consumers already have many established digital payment options, and developing countries, where there are fewer such options. In Nigeria, 91% of respondents say they are likely to use CBDC, with 60% of consumers saying so in Indonesia. However, these figures fall to just 24% in the United States and 14% in Germany. CBDC awareness is also much higher in emerging markets.

Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo reportedly said that the central bank will release the conceptual design of digital rupiah by the end of 2022. The central bank will distribute the CBDC to large banks and payment service companies to sell to smaller banks for various retail transactions. It is also considering ways to ensure it would be exchangeable across borders.

A survey conducted by Ipsos MORI on behalf of OMFIF and G+D which provides insights into consumers' attitudes towards new digital forms of payments, including CBDC, in four countries: Germany, Indonesia, Nigeria and the US. The survey findings reveal a sharp difference in attitudes towards CBDCs between consumers in developed and developing countries. In Nigeria - where a pilot CBDC project was launched in October - 91% of respondents say they are likely to use CBDCs, with 60% of consumers saying so in Indonesia. However, these figures fall to just 24% in the US and 14% in Germany. This suggests CBDCs could offer a 'leapfrog' moment in payments in emerging markets, where systems are less developed, compared to countries such as the US and Germany, where consumers have many established payment options already.

Bank Indonesia (BI) shared the results of its wholesale DLT-based central bank digital currency (CBDC) consultation. In general, the top-level design of wholesale digital rupiah is in line with public expectations. The project will now enter the proof-of-concept stage, which will be followed by prototyping and piloting/sandboxing.

WhatsApp is in advanced talks with several digital payments firms including ride hailer Go-Jek, mobile payments firm DANA, backed by China's Ant Financial, and fintech startup OVO, which is owned by Indonesian conglomerate Lippo Group and is also backed by ride hailing company Grab, sources said.

Indonesia's top Muslim clerical body has issued an edict deeming virtual money acceptable, as long it met specific conditions. To showcase the compliance of their services with Islam, fintech firms are organising forums with Islamic scholars and sponsoring religious festivals. Newer startups are tailoring services for Indonesia's growing body of "born-again" Muslims, known as the "hijrah" movement at home."

Central Bank of the UAE and Bank Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding, to boost mutual co-operation. It covers digital innovation in payment and financial services to facilitate more efficient and secure transactions, cross-border payment systems including retail payments, and frameworks of anti-money laundering and combatting the financing of terrorism