In the history of Indonesia, the currency officially circulated in early independence was the Japanese currency, Dutch East Indies guilder, and De Javasche Bank currency.
Currency inflation had occurred in the Japanese currency, related to its defeat in World War II.
Indonesia's small people are the most disadvantaged of the inflation, because the Indonesian small people at that time most use the Japanese currency in economic activities daily.
The loss of small people in the history of Indonesian money is exacerbated by the decline of the policy of the AFNEI commander who occupied Indonesia in 1946.
The policy contains the enforcement of NICA currency as an official transaction tool in Indonesia. This policy reap protests from the Indonesian government because the NICA currency is considered to harm the indigenous people and disrupt the stability of Indonesia's newly independent economy.
The attitude of the Indonesian government protests is shown by the issuance of the policy of banning NICA currency in transactions.
The first major step in Indonesia's money history in overcoming the currency use dilemma with AFNEI forces is the issuance of ORI (Oeang Republik Indonesia).
On October 26, 1946, the Indonesian government firmly and courageously issued a new currency and prohibited the use of any foreign currency, including NICA.
Newly independent Indonesians fully support this bold move. Many people use ORI, as a symbol of its alignment to the Indonesian government.
During this period of use of ORI currency, Indonesia traced major changes in banking, such as Bank Negara Indonesia (BNI), Bank Rakyat Indonesia (BRI), and so on.
The establishment of these national banks is actually a form of Indonesian government acquisition of the assets of the previous government relics, especially the Japanese colonial government.
In the economic development and history of Indonesian money, the ORI currency was only used until 1949
Furthermore, Bank Indonesia introduced the Rupiah as the official currency of Indonesia. Rupiah, derived from the word rupee, ie the Indian currency has actually existed since the Dutch colonial rule, but lost prestige than the currency