Bank Indonesia has widened access to the Indonesia Credit Card, allowing individuals and companies to use a payment product that was first developed for government bodies. The central bank said the expansion is intended to support purchasing power and economic growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy. The card uses Indonesia’s domestic payment system and gives the public another option alongside internationally issued credit cards.

The system was launched in 2022 to help government agencies make payments more quickly and support faster public spending. Under the wider arrangement, eight local banks may issue the card to retail customers: Bank Central Asia, Bank Mandiri, Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Rakyat Indonesia, CIMB Niaga, Permata Bank, Bank Mega and Bank Syariah Indonesia. The mix includes state-owned, private and Islamic banking institutions.

Cardholders will be able to make payments at merchants that accept quick-response codes, including participating outlets outside Indonesia, according to the central bank. This connects the card with the country’s established QR payment facilities and extends its use beyond conventional card terminals. Bank Indonesia said consumers and companies will remain free to choose between the domestic card and products linked to international payment networks.

Government transactions made through the card reached 147.8 billion rupiah, or about $8.3 million, in the April-June quarter. That represented an increase of around 70 per cent from the same period a year earlier. Visa and Mastercard have remained the leading international players in Indonesia’s credit card market, according to an earlier report by state news agency Antara, while the new retail access gives domestically processed payments a larger role.