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Jakarta wants to reduce its dependence on foreign payment systems, citing sanctions on Russia © Getty Images/Nikada The Bank of Indonesia is preparing to phase out Visa and Mastercard while introducing its own domestic payment system, Antara news agency reported on Monday, citing the regulator. Last week, Indonesian President Joko Widodo urged regional authorities to wean themselves away from foreign payment systems and start using cards issued by local banks. He argued that Indonesia needed to shield itself from geopolitical disruptions, citing the sanctions targeting Russia’s financial sector from the US, EU, and their allies over the conflict in Ukraine. “Be very careful. We must remember the sanctions imposed by the US on Russia. Visa and Mastercard could be...

NOVANEWS By Andrew Korybko Note to readers: please click the share buttons above There was a sudden outbreak of violence last week in the Indonesian Province of Papua. Local elections were marred by two separate incidents of violence when armed individuals attacked state security representatives in remote parts of the island’s interior, raising concerns that separatist violence might be returning to the region. The Indonesian government has downplayed the influence of these forces for decades by attributing similar events to “bandits” and other “criminals”, though the so-called “Free Papua Movement” that’s been active since the territory’s de-facto incorporation into Indonesia in 1963 following the Dutch withdrawal and especially its formal one in 1969 after the controversial “...

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Indonesia to ditch Visa and Mastercard

The Papua Attacks Prove That Insurgency Is Still Alive in Indonesia