Open bank account no Kitas

I can't comment about Mandira, but I have had dealings with BNI.
I found a few of their people poorly trained, asking very silly questions, but generally very good.
By "Silly questions", I mean really daft stuff such as asking if I was allowed to deposit cash in an account under my own name.
I didn't mind them asking for a KTP when depositing cash into my own account, but I can't see a lot of point in it.
BCA have never asked a stupid or pointless question.

Both sets of staff have always been polite.

you can get one just ask around..watch yerself with that voulentary teaching..that,s still illegal..cus it.s stll taking an Indo.s job..that,s how the Gov.t looks at it.u don.t want to be BLACKBANNED...OR DEPORTED.

Shouldn't be able to do that, especially with the big banks but who knows with some of those smaller private banks.

abdulkhalil wrote:

Shouldn't be able to do that, especially with the big banks but who knows with some of those smaller private banks.

Bit of an old thread now but an going issue for expats here.
My first bank set  up an account before my first KITAS was issued but that was a long time ago and before the rules were ever enforced or even cared about by most people.
Things have changed now so rules tend to be taken seriously meaning no foreigner should be able to open an account without a KITAS or KITAP.
I suppose it might be possible in one of the tiny small town branches but less likely these days.

come to think of it..I opened 1 on a...VOA...WITH Mandiri   I...STILL HAVE IT...BUT WAS 1999..i think some people have done it with BRI...OR   BCA,..

I was staying at a guest house for a week.  The owner had a bank account with Mandiri and offered to help me open an account at his bank.  He vouched for me, told them I was applying for a Kitas and got an account there, that day.  I chose a bank that had a Visa symbol on its bank machine card that is the same Visa symbol on my bank machine card in my country.  Then I could set up on line with my bank account in Canada, then transfer money from Canada to Indonesia (Bali) using ONLY my Mandiri bank card number and transfer money via Visa Direct arriving here within a few hours!  Very convenient!  Funnily enough no one at any Mandiri bank knew I could do this with only a bank machine card number.  Even my bank manager in Canada wasn't sure.  I have now been using Visa Direct here for 4 years when I need money quickly.  Otherwise I use TransferWise which takes 2-5 days, requires your bank account numbers, etc. but is up to $40 cheaper if you include service fee and exchange rate!

bundy2 wrote:

come to think of it..I opened 1 on a...VOA...WITH Mandiri   I...STILL HAVE IT...BUT WAS 1999..i think some people have done it with BRI...OR   BCA,..

Back then nobody cared as long as you were stuffing an account with cash, but the story is different now.
I see a poster claims to have opened a Mandiri account illegally and is using it to transfer money - if that is the case and it comes to the wrong person's attention, the account could be blocked and funds confiscated.

A very good piece of advice to follow is stick to the rules .. or you might come unstuck in an expensive way.

I think Transferwise should be a lot quicker than that unless used over the weekend.

My experience , we tried all banks ,,my wife and I could not get any Accounts for me as I have no Kitas
Period ,,,  I made account at Singapore HSBC and able to access it within Indo.
  Hope that helps

The rules were put into place in order to limit terrorists and other criminals access to local banking services so it's nice to hear banks are sticking to the rules.

The guest house owner just asked the bank.  The bank looked at all my credentials and then said “yes”.  That was 4 years ago!  Nothing was done under the table, illegally.  Everything was honest, upfront, transparent, honest and left for the bank employee to decide.  It's a simple yes or no.

Dynamoe wrote:

The guest house owner just asked the bank.  The bank looked at all my credentials and then said “yes”.  That was 4 years ago!  Nothing was done under the table, illegally.  Everything was honest, upfront, transparent, honest and left for the bank employee to decide.  It's a simple yes or no.

I can assure you it was illegal at thay time.
No KITAS or KITAP, no legal bank account

Well I hope you are not keeping too much money on that account...

As Fred told you, that account would be deemed illegal at any time and if any problem arises you'll be in for a ride ending up with confiscated funds...

As a side note, Revolut is faster than TransferWise and about the same as far as cost is concerned. I use it a lot to transfer funds to BCA or HSBC...

Oh I haven't ever used Revolut. Is that a french company?

I've been using TransferWise for a long time, and it usually takes about 2 minutes to transfer funds from my bank account to TransferWise, and then about 30 seconds for the transfer to send from TransferWise to my local bank in Indonesia - basically instantaneous. But trying to send on a Saturday or Sunday means it arrives on Monday.

For future readers of this thread, I'll clarify.

To open a bank account in Indonesia, an expat MUST have a KITAS or KITAP or the account is illegal and you run the risk of it being closed and all funds confiscated.

There might well be the odd manager around that doesn't follow the rules but opening could be an expensive mistake so I strongly recommend not trying it.

Expensive mistake?  How?  What do I do then?  Help!

As Fred has said it would be illegal so therefore it's an illegal activity it will be confiscated
IF you have a bank account with funds in it and the account was obtained illegally You run a high risk of loss of funds and deportation
If opened legally but no longer have kitas etc no issues

Dynamoe wrote:

Expensive mistake?  How?  What do I do then?  Help!

If you have a KITAS now, forget it because it won't be a problem.
If you do not, the chances of being found out are minimal, but I would be tempted to keep the amount in there low just in case.
The security services keep an eye on transactions (Personal experience) so there's always a chance someone will look at you if you transfer large amounts.
I still get the odd call when a chunk gets transferred from a  overseas account, even when I transfer it from an account in my name.
I've had accounts for years and the account I transfer to now has a priviledge customer card, but I fully expect a call when I transfer 40 million from England next month.

I had a very bad experience with Citibank in Bali.  I wanted to open up an account IF their bank card also had a Visa symbol on it so I could transfer money using Visa Direct.  The information officer told me Citibank did not use Visa Direct.  I asked to speak to a teller or the bank manager but he wouldn't let me.  I told him my bank in Canada said Citibank in Bali did use Visa Direct.  He said I was wrong!  I phoned my Canadian bank and had him speak to the person on the phone.  The Canadian bank person said “yes” Visa Direct was used by Citibank and was on the worldwide list.  The Citibank person listened, hung up then told me they were wrong.  A few months later I met by accident a person who worked at Citibank.  She told me that of course they used Visa Direct.  Go figure!

One sad truth here, as in many places, you can get staff that think they know they're right. My only duff experience was a BNI teller than insisted on my passport for every transaction claiming the bank needed it. I got used to taking it with me in case I was unlucky enough to have her that time. She finally shut up when I got my Indonesian passport, and the look on her face was priceless.

Visa Direct takes less than 2 hours.  TransWise is getting much better (faster).  And you are right, if you avoid weekends it's very fast!  During the week, usually 2 days.  I got a transfer once in about 23 hours but sometimes it takes 2-5 days depending on weekends and holidays in both countries.

It might just depend on the bank you are using here. I don't know. Or maybe it takes longer from Canada or the process is different.

If you try to use TransferWise on a Saturday or Sunday you will get the exchange rate they give but there will be no transfer to Indonesia until Monday, even they say it can arrive on Tuesday.

But for me, it takes about 30 seconds to get the funds from TransferWise to my local bank on a weekday. I just don't bother trying to send money on weekends because nothing happens until Monday. I can make a transfer early Monday morning and it will be in my local account almost immediately.

Many of my expat friends here also use TransferWise and their experience is the same as mine.

I looked at Revolut and it suggested there may be more costs involved if you transfer money from a bank outside of the ECM.  My bank is in Canada.

Just used TransferWise again, took a couple of minutes to send money from my overseas bank to TransferWise and then as soon as I sent the money to Indonesia I logged in to my local bank App the money had already arrived...so possibly fast than 30 seconds.

Revolut is from the UK actually and I use it more than TW but it would seem TW works real fast now so I guess it's as good :-)

I will check out Revolut as it's always good to have alternatives.

Well yes, I believe alternatives are good ;-)
I like the ability with TW to open accounts in several currencies with an address in US, UK or Germany for instance but I like the flexibility that REVOLUT offers especially as far as topping up the account is concerned and of course the  FOC ATM withdrawals abroad and other perks...

As for the Indonesian authorities checking up on you Fred, when was the last time? I am a bit surprised as I have been moving quite a bit of money between my European accounts and the Indonesian ones (actually mostly via my wife's ACs) and we never had any reaction neither from BCA or HSBC so I am a bit surprised that anyone would raise an eyebrow for 40M IDR.

I have taken several calls asking to explain cash moved from abroad so it's clear someone is watching. It's possible it's only me, but unlikely as I have an excellent relationship with the bank concerned.
I do know there was a big push to looking out for terrorist funding starting some years ago after the last Jakarta bombs.

Also a bit surprised that a Rp40 million transfer would result in calls. I've also never had any calls or problems sending money from overseas to Indonesia, even sending billions of rupiah here. As a foreigner, the banks I use seem to find sending money from overseas pretty normal. The only calls I get are to remind me to pay my credit cards and I tend to get those every month.

Perhaps I look shifty

Wow, lucky you.  So it goes from your bank to TransferWise in a London, then to your bank in Indonesia in 30 seconds!  Amazing!  Maybe slower if your bank is outside the ECM?  Oh well 30 seconds or 23 hours on a Wednesday I guess is quick enough.

Well it takes a couple of minutes to send from my bank to TW, and then almost instantaneous for it to appear in my account in Indonesia and ready to use. I don't know if that is lucky, it's just what happens.

I use transferwise and if money is sent (typically) during a working day / business hours in the uk and Indonesia its usually in the account within 10 minutes I've never had any issues with them
I've sent large amounts in and out of Indonesia with zero questions max you can send in any single transaction is about 500,000,000IDR
BUT it's worth pre warning both banks about such amounts
If you do that regular basis your the manager newest and bestest friend