Indonesia’s Payment Infrastructure Gears Up as Holiday Travel Reaches 119 Million

Jakarta, 17 December 2025 – The Christmas and New Year (Nataru) holiday period of 2025/2026 is expected to serve as a strong catalyst for Indonesia’s digital economy. In line with increased public mobility, payment system transaction volumes are projected to grow by more than 50% year-on-year, reaching an estimated 90 million transactions during the peak holiday period.

This outlook is consistent with data from the Transportation Policy Agency of the Ministry of Transportation, which estimates that approximately 119.5 million people—equivalent to 42.01% of the total population—will travel during the 2025/2026 Nataru holidays. This represents an increase of around 2.71% compared to the previous period, signaling heightened economic activity across major travel, homecoming, and tourism destinations.

The data and projections were presented at Forum Link Nataru 2025/2026, Jalin’s annual flagship forum organized by PT Jalin Pembayaran Nusantara (“Jalin”), part of the Danantara ecosystem under the state-owned holding Danareksa. The forum convenes members of the Link Network as a strategic platform to align national payment infrastructure and operational readiness ahead of the year-end peak season.

President Director of Jalin, Ario Tejo Bayu Aji, noted that the correlation between physical mobility and digital transaction growth continues to strengthen.

“We are seeing a significant recovery in consumer spending toward the end of 2025. As mobility increases, digital transactions are expected to concentrate in sectors that support travel activities, including food and beverage (F&B), accommodation and travel transportation, retail, and other related services. Notably, digital adoption has reached a more mature stage, with around 80% of the projected transaction growth driven by QRIS usage. This reflects a fundamental shift in how people transact while traveling and during the holiday season,” said Ario.

Despite the growing dominance of cashless payments, industry players acknowledge that access to cash remains essential, particularly in transit areas as well as tourism destinations and intercity travel corridors.

Jalin’s Director of Operations, Argabudhy Sasrawiguna, emphasized that ensuring seamless economic activity during the Nataru period requires digital readiness supported by a resilient physical network. The Nataru operational readiness period (Posko Nataru) has been set from 20 December 2025 to 5 January 2026, with peak transaction volumes expected on New Year’s Eve, 31 December 2025.

“Physical infrastructure remains highly relevant amid digital acceleration. We are ensuring the readiness of cash withdrawal access points through the management of the Himbara ATM network—BRI, BNI, Bank Mandiri, and BTN—connected via ATM Link, to continue serving public needs optimally. Our focus is on maintaining service stability across both digital channels and ATM networks during periods of heavy traffic, while remaining ready to activate Business Continuity Management (BCM) measures if required,” said Argabudhy.

Beyond operational and technological readiness, this year’s Forum Link also highlighted the increasing risk of cybercrime alongside the surge in digital transactions during peak holiday periods. Fraud risks—particularly those involving AI-enabled social engineering techniques—are becoming more adaptive and require collective mitigation efforts.

In response, Jalin has strengthened its security capabilities through the implementation of a Fraud Management System (FMS) to monitor transaction anomalies in real time, while promoting ecosystem-wide collaboration through the exchange of industry insights on emerging fraud trends and typologies.

These themes were further explored in a panel discussion titled “Enhancing Transaction Security in the Age of AI Threats,” which examined mitigation practices, security innovations, and the balance between system protection and user convenience. The discussion underscored the importance of cross-industry collaboration among banks, fintech companies, and regulators, featuring perspectives from Thomas Wahyudi, SEVP Digital Business at BTN, and Eka Nilam Dari, President Director of ShopeePay.