Bank Centra Asia (BCA)

A few points:


BCA ATMs are very easy to find

BCA's banking app is very safe and extremely easy to use.

There are BCA branches all over the place

The BCA Flazz card can be used to pay toll fees and is normally  accepted in car parks with automated payment systems

The same card can be used in  many shops, especially the big chains and supermarkets

If your phone has NFC, you can top up your Flazz card from the app

The BCA app allows cardless ATM transactions - That protects you from skimmers


My experience with BCA has been very good


That isn't to say they are the only good bank, but I recommend them to the vast majority of expats as they make life easy.


The usual rules apply when you open an account.

They will ask for your passport and KITAS/KITAP, and may ask for other documents.

I think the opening balance is still Rp.500,000, but that needs to be confirmed.

I had a bad experience with my bca account being defrauded  some years ago ,customer services were totally unhelpful at the branch and also in jakarta ,cameras were not working at the atm were the phishing took place etc etc etc .


Anyway I never got 1 rp in compensation ,so of course I closed my account .


I moved to mandiri ,never a problem ,the systems work well especially online .

I had a bad experience with my bca account being defrauded  some years ago ,customer services were totally unhelpful at the branch and also in jakarta ,cameras were not working at the atm were the phishing took place etc etc etc .


Anyway I never got 1 rp in compensation ,so of course I closed my account .


I moved to mandiri ,never a problem ,the systems work well especially online .

I had a bad experience with my bca account being defrauded some years ago ,customer services were totally unhelpful at the branch and also in jakarta ,cameras were not working at the atm were the phishing took place etc etc etc .
Anyway I never got 1 rp in compensation ,so of course I closed my account .

I moved to mandiri ,never a problem ,the systems work well especially online .
-@scouser59


I suppose experiences vary, but mine have always been very good. I had a Mandiri account but the app was a lot more difficult to use and the limited number of ATMs made it harder work.

Do they have a cardless section on their app so you can withdraw cash without fear of ATM skimmers?

They do cardless in indomart

They do cardless in indomart
-@scouser59

I've never used that - how does it work?

KOMPAS.com – For those of you customers of Bank Mandiri who have difficulty finding an ATM machine to withdraw money, the Mandiri cash withdrawal method at Indomaret can be the solution. There are a number of terms and conditions that need to be considered, starting from Mandiri cash withdrawal fees at Indomaret to maximum cash withdrawals at Indomaret . In addition, there are also provisions regarding a minimum spending of a certain nominal before making cash withdrawals at Indomaret.

I get it - It's a cashback thing when you shop.

The cardless feature on BCA's app allows you to take cash from an ATM without using a card, thus  it's much harder for thieves to rip you off.

You can also do that with mandiri cardless at the atm ,but as you said you dont have easy access to mandiri atms.

You can also do that with mandiri cardless at the atm ,but as you said you dont have easy access to mandiri atms.
-@scouser59

Very few around when compared to BCA's one every street in bigger towns, often 3 or 4.

There's one Mandiri I know of in my little corner, but a pile of BCA places in shops, and all three BCA branches within easy walking distance.

@Fred I considered BCA but they have much higher fees than Mandiri and BNI so I chose Mandiri and haven't had an issue with them. I haven't had any problems finding a ATM for Mandiri besides you can use BNI Link and use their ATM's also.

If you need to move money around internationally, BCA is your hands down best option.  That said, I also like the way they handle their preferred or high ranking customers.  This is a feature of all big banks worldwide.   

I think there are  a few cheaper options to move money around other than BCA.  Wise, and XE are better options I think and there are a few others.  I'm not a high ranking bank customer so I try to steer clear of high fees.

Opinions, needs, and wants vary, but I find BCA suits me nicely for my daily banking needs.


The main reason is ease of use :

ATMs are very easy to find

Their app is secure but easy to use - and the 'cardless' ATM feature is really handy.

Their services include everything I need.


If you have a Priority card, the normally very good customer service turns into 'nothing is too much trouble' customer service.


I gave up on BNI because I got sick of the ATMs asking me to change my PIN. My memory is a bit on the crap side so I changed as forced, but then changed it back to the original number - What a waste of time

Same goes for their app. It got to the point where their security measures threw me out and I would have to reregister (with the same details and passwords) every time I needed it.

I used them for years but it was their security that forced me away because I simply couldn't use the ATMs and App without a load of playing around.


Mandiri is a fine bank, but I only opened the account for a specific reason. When that died, I closed it.

The ATMs, whilst less numerous than BCA's, work exactly as I need - No pissing about trying to get through daft over-security


I keep a BRI account as well, but only for a specific reason. Their customer service was always good, but the Priority card service is all armchairs with served coffee instead of a queue. As with Mandiri, there are fewer ATMs around, but they work without messing around.