Bank Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara Timur office recorded 2,977 purchase transactions using QRIS during the Garuda Sakti Cross Border Fest 2026 in Atambua, Belu Regency, on 4-8 August 2026. The area shares a direct border with Timor Leste.
Alfin Ari Wijayanto, Deputy Head of Bank Indonesia's Nusa Tenggara Timur Provincial Office, said the achievement demonstrates the increasingly widespread acceptance of digital payments among people in the Indonesia-Timor Leste border region. The use of QRIS at the festival is part of efforts to expand the digital economy and finance ecosystem in the border area.
According to Wijayanto, QRIS facilitates transactions and promotes more efficient and inclusive financial dealings, especially for communities in the border region. The event also involved 120 local micro and small enterprise operators as an opportunity to strengthen their readiness to adopt and adapt to developments in digital economy and finance.
At the closing ceremony, QRIS education was delivered through prize-winning quizzes and "Love, Pride and Understand" (CBP) Rupiah education sessions as well as "Care, Know and Report" (PeKA) activities in digital financial transactions. The event, which was estimated to have attracted more than 5,000 visitors, was a collaboration between Bank Indonesia, the Ministry of Tourism, the Belu Regency government, banks and various other parties to strengthen rupiah sovereignty and boost economic growth in the border region.
Bank Indonesia NTT continues to strengthen CBP Rupiah education and transaction digitalisation through various literacy activities in the border region. BI NTT also provides a CBP Rupiah Literacy Corner as an educational space for Atambua residents to deepen their understanding of the rupiah and encourage its use in every transaction in the territory of the Republic of Indonesia.
