The Bank Indonesia Representative Office in Bali has made history with the successful launch of the Bali QRIS Summer Run 2025, held at the East Field of Bajra Sandhi Monument, Denpasar, on Sunday, June 15, 2025.
This initiative aims to raise public awareness about QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) as a convenient and secure digital payment method.
Under the theme “Run into the Future Toward Bali Digital Island”, the event blended sport, culture, creative economy empowerment, and environmental sustainability with more than 1,500 people participated.
This event marked the first running event in Bali where every aspect—registration, race pack and medal collection, and transactions in the race village—was fully
powered by QRIS. The registration fee was symbolically set at IDR 72 to commemorate Bank Indonesia’s 72nd anniversary.
One of the event’s highlights was a MURI (Indonesian Record Museum) award for creating the first-ever medals in Indonesia made from shredded banknote waste. A
total of 30 kilograms of shredded currency was used to craft the medals, distributed to all finishers.
“This is a concrete step toward digital transformation in the payment system,” said Butet Linda H. Panjaitan, Deputy Head of Bank Indonesia Bali Office. “QRIS is the go-to non-cash payment option—fast, easy, affordable, safe, and reliable. This MURI record also symbolizes our commitment to sustainable circular economy practices in Bali,” she added as reported by BaliBerkarya.
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Bank Indonesia partnered with the Bali Provincial Government and six payment service providers—BPD Bali, Bank Mandiri, BNI, BRI, BCA, and Netzme—to boost public adoption of QRIS. Throughout the event, QRIS facilitated over 12,000 transactions. To support Bali’s waste management efforts, BI collaborated with Plasticpay through the #ReducePlasticMovement campaign.
Attendees could exchange plastic bottles (1 bottle = IDR 1,000) using QRIS and explore a mini-expo of MSMEs converting plastic waste into value-added products. A total of 1,549 plastic bottles—over 30 kilograms—were collected.
Creative economy empowerment was also showcased through exhibits by local film community Luar Kotak Audio Visual, game developer Pandora Entertainment, and an MSME product auction hosted by the Directorate General of State Assets.
More than just a race, the event also engaged the Bali Regional Digitalization Acceleration Team, which offered a mobile Samsat vehicle enabling participants to pay motor vehicle taxes via QRIS.
With over 3,500 visitors, Bali QRIS Summer Run 2025 became the largest QRIS digital payment literacy event in Eastern Indonesia, reinforcing BI’s mission to accelerate inclusive, secure, and sustainable digital payment systems. The event received national support from the Minister of Creative Economy, Teuku Riefky Harsya.
“This isn’t just a fun run. It’s a collective stride toward smart tourism and the digital creative economy in Bali. One QRIS, a million steps!” said Riefky Harsya as quoted from BaliBisnis.
Bali Provincial Secretary Dewa Made Indra praised BI and the community for embracing digital transactions and highlighted the innovative medals as symbols of Bali’s journey toward becoming a Green and Digital Island.
“We invite the public to cherish the Rupiah as a symbol of national sovereignty and to actively adopt QRIS for everyday transactions,” said Indra.
In line with Bali’s development vision of inclusive and sustainable prosperity, transforming the tourism sector plays a crucial role. While tourism has long driven Bali’s economy, its sustainable future depends on effective and forward-thinking management.
In addition, BI promoted QRIS Cross Border—a vital element in building a robust digital payment ecosystem to support Bali’s tourism sector. This feature enables foreign tourists to make payments using their home country’s compatible payment apps without needing to exchange physical currency.
Currently, QRIS Cross Border is available for tourists from Singapore, Malaysia, and Thailand, with plans to expand to Japan and China. With this innovation, Bali is set to strengthen its global appeal as a smart, seamless,
and sustainable tourism destination.
Sources: BaliBisnis, BaliBerkarya
Feat Images: via Bank Indonesia