ONLINE booking is becoming increasingly popular among internet savvy Indonesian travelers, and the growing lifestyle is also expected to include cashless payements.
Rudianto, an executive working in Jakarta,
for example, has a habit of traveling abroad either for business or leisure and
always books airline tickets and hotel room online because “you can do it at
anytime and anywhere. This means it is more efficient in terms of time and
cost,” said the 40-yea-old.
But when it come to making financial
transactions, he acknowledges that initially he was in doubt about using his
credit card, but the benefits that the card p;rovides has prompted him ot use
it with confidence, especially when traveling to Singapore, Hong Kong, South
Korea, Japan and other places where cas-based transactions are bedoming less
common.
“I always pay with my credit card,
even when I pay for a taxi or bus fare in Korea. By holding a credit card, I don
not have to convert my money into local currency,” he said.
He added that if he paid a taxi fare
in local currency and had small change, then “the small change cannot be
converted into rupiah when I am back home”.
Rudianto is one of the many Indonesians
fro mthe middle class with travel becoming part of their lifestyle. Being internet,
savvy, many are accustomed to booking airline tickets and hotel rooms digitally,
with some also becoming familiar with digital payment.
Indonesia is one of the 27 countries
and territories that Visa, the world.s leader digital payments, has recently surveyed
throught its Global Travel Intentions (GTI) study.
Visa’s GTI study, which was
conducted between June and July 2017, has revelaed some very interesti ntravel
insights, including how travelers have become increasingly familiar with
technology to plan their trips and navigate to their destinations.
For example, indoensian travelers
rely heavily on online information sources at every stage of travel, 91 percent
while planning, 82 percent while booking, and 82 percent gained online access
while travelling overseas, the study reavealed.
The study further said in the past
two years, inonesians traveld internationally for leisure an average of five
trips, while in the next two years, the average will be higher at 5.4 trips. “The
most common trigger for Indonesian travelers to take a rip is family vacation
during holidays,” as mentioned in the study.
The study also revealed that when it
comes to travel destinations, in the next two years, 20 percent of Indonesian
will go to Japan, followed by Singapore, which accounts for 12 percent.
Another recent study by Visa on
consumer payment attitudes disclosed that the influx of new technology and
innovation “has inspired Indonesian consumers to use electronic payments I ntheir
daily live as opposed to using cas because they are using electronic payments
more of the n(57%), the feel using cards is safer than cash (61%), and they
would like to eliminate the physical process of paying (60%)”.
PT Visa Worldwide Indonesia
president director said,” as technology and electronic payments become integral
in our daily lives, we can expect more Indonesian travelers to rely on digital
or mobile payments when planning, booking or travelling.”
“As our mobile and contactless
payments have become increasingly popular all over tahe world, we hope
Indonesian travelers will use their Visa Cards to enjoy hassle-free payments
anywhere they go,” he said.
“To further accelerate electronic
payments acceptance in Indonesia, Visa has recently teamed up with Cashlez to
distribute 5,000 mobile point of sale (mPOS) contactless-enabled devices in
popular tourist cities, including Bali, Lombok, Yogyakarta, Solo, Surabaya,
Malang, Medan and Bandung,” Rko pointed out.
More Indonesians are familiar with
technology when it comes to traveling, but many, perhaps, are still in doubt
about the safety of cashless payments when taking a trip.
Following are some tips on have a
safe, cashless trip, no matter where you go, which will hopefully be useful:
1. Electronic payments are safer and
more convenient than carrying cash. Start relying on your payment cards, which
are extremely convenient when booking a hotel room or purchasing an airline
ticket for your trips.
2. Bring only a small amount of cash. Do
not, carry too much cash, though you might need some small change, escpecially
if you are travelling to rural location where electronic dat capture (edc)
machines or ATMs are less common.
3. Take care of your cards and do not
prorvide your card details to anyone. Take advantage of the hotel-provided safe
for valuables. Keep all payment carad information to yourself. This includes you
PINs, passwords and other secret information. Contact your bank immediately if
your card is lost or stolen.
4. Save all of your receipts and review
your statements. Once you are back home, check your receipts carefully against
your motnly statements. Go through your statements carefully and contact your
issuing bank immediately if you see any suspicious or incorrect charges. This is
also a great way to keep record of how much you‘re spending on holidays in
general, so that you can better plan for futher trips.
5. Keep a list importanct contacts in
case your phone is lost or stolen. You must write down important numbers in a pocket
book, including the call center of your issuing bank, general emergency (112),
medical emergency (119), polie (110), fierefighter (113), and emergency
ambulance (118).
6. Check out fun local events such as
festivals and concerts in the city you are visiting. According to the latest
Visa GTI study, Indonesian travelers prefer to engage with the local culture by
going on tours & visiting attractions (72%) while traveling overseas. Visiting
theme parks (49%), famous cultural locations (46%), and attending local
cultural activities (22%), are other popular activities.
