Anyone ever had to arrange a bank cheque in Rp?

[FreoGirl]

I have to send a bank cheque to Jakarta for my husband's visa renewal and can't find a bank here in Lombok that issues bank cheques in rupiah. Getting the good old Tidak Ada! :evil:

I've contacted the embassy and they suggested I go to Bali to get a bank cheque, but couldn't tell me what bank in Bali does them. If I do find a bank in Bali to do one I estimate it will cost me AUD100 just for the cheque, then there is the application fee itself, couriers for paperwork, etc etc.

It's all a bit of a bugger :cry:

Any suggestions?

 

[Roy]

Yup, moving money in or out of Indonesia can be a pain, and even moving money within Indonesia can be a big pain too.

Not to be nosey, but don't you and your husband share any bank accounts? I mean, can't he just go to an ATM and withdraw what he needs from an account you both share and pay in cash?

Then again, I'm assuming your hubby is in Jakarta, and well he might not be, though it's hard to imagine he isn't if he's involved in a visa renewal. But, if that's the case, to be sure, the appropriate embassy that you are dealing with will certainly have an Indonesian bank account that you can simply transfer funds...from your account to their's and usually this can be done at an ATM.

I think you need to speak to someone higher than the clerk shouting, "tidak ada." Good luck.

 

[FreoGirl]

Hi Roy
We are both here in Lombok. The visa renewal is with the Australian Embassy, and must be done via courier or post, even if you are in Jakarta. They are still only doing that way after the bombing of our embassy.

We have to fill out all the paperwork and then mail the lot to the embassy with payment. When I couldn't find a bank to do a bank cheque, I asked the embassy and they said other Lombok clients have had to go to Bali to get a bank cheque.

If I have to do that, I was hoping to know which bank in Bali to go to.

I have also asked the embassy if I can put the money direct to their account, as they have that system for people in Jakarta - they can put the money into the Commonwealth Bank in Jakarta (that is an Australian bank with a Jakarta branch). Waiting on a reply for that one.

Must be some way I can do it!

 

[Poli]

Hi Karen

The easiest way is to get a family member in Australia to go to their nearest DIMIA office and pay for the visa renewal there! Then they can send the receipt on to you to attach to the forms. BUt you will need to have a reliable mailing address in Lombok to ensure that you actually get the receipt.

Have you tried Bank BII in Cakra? Otherwise, BCA is always the best bet, far better than BNI.

Poli

 

[FreoGirl]

Thanks for the advice Poli, the embassy have since suggested that one too. Crazy situation - they only accept a form of payment that is not available, or at least not easily available.
They also told me Bank Niaga in Bali does bank cheques, I rang Bank Niaga and they said they didn't, so I told the embassy that, and they said they did, so I rang Bank Niaga again and spoke to a manager and he said they didn't, so... I gave up on that one. :?
In the meantime I've found another work around that involves some bent rules, so Indonesian :lol:
FG