re: ATM , how do most foreigners

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If you have a KITAS which is a long term resident visa for Indonesia, then you can open a bank account here. You can transfer money using TransferWise or similar to send money from back home or anywhere else to your Indonesian bank and will receive it with a very good exchange rate and in a very short time. The transfer can easily be done online. For me, those transfers take a matter of minutes during weekdays whereas on weekends the money only arrives on the Monday.

I also withdraw cash using overseas Debit Cards but the exchange rates and charges make it less interesting.

Again, thank you for the information we do plan on staying long term. Could you suggest a good reliable bank?  Thank you.

If you are going to live in Bali then I would recommend BCA.

We have accounts with BCA and Mandiri and HSBC but I think the nearest HSBC to Bali is in Surabaya, although that might have changed. But I would definitely recommend the BCA (or Mandiri) as these are two really large and reliable banks.

Some smaller banks might offer slightly better interest rates on FD's but many of us still remember in 1997/8 when 16 small Indonesian banks became insolvent in the banking collapse and many customers lost fortunes.

For transferring money out of Indonesia, you can use Topremit.

I think you already understand that in order to open a bank account in Indonesia you will need a KITAS or KITAP or similar long term visa. So if you plan to remain here for just six months you probably wouldn't be able to open a bank account here. Some people use the bank account of "friends" in order to receive funds via TransferWise, and some receive money via Western Union. Using Debit cards with ATM machines is also alright, but in certain places such as in Bali there have been a lots of cases of card skimming and many people recommend only withdrawing from an ATM machine located inside a bank. That is not really the case in other parts of Indonesia, but certainly in Bali it is a concern.

Another thing to note (unless the procedure has changed) is that if an ATM machine is empty of cash, the withdrawal will still proceed and your account will be debited even if no cash is dispensed. In such a case it is advisable to call the bank immediately for them to verify and cancel the transaction (keep your transaction receipt). If you keep trying again and again your account will be debited each time. Perhaps other posters can verify if this is still the case or whether it no longer happens with Indonesian ATM machines.

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Use a top up card, one i use is Revolut, live exchange rates best i have ever found, and typically free at atms or extremely low fee, like 2 cents(us)  or less totally remote from your phone, i can use it in every country i visit, i tend to use this in indonesia also as if lost, damage, replacement takes several seconds to, block, replace, freeze etc, best card i have ever used