- Aims to promote faster, cheaper, more transparent, and more inclusive cross-border payments, particularly benefiting micro, small, and medium enterprises.
- Expected to strengthen economic ties between Indonesia and Malaysia, support a stronger post-pandemic economic recovery, and provide greater convenience for travelers.
Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) have announced the commercial launch of the Indonesia-Malaysia cross-border QR payment linkage. This move follows the successful completion of the pilot phase announced in January 2022. The expanded participation of financial institutions, including non-banks, will enable more Indonesians and Malaysians to make instant retail payments using QRIS or DuitNow QR codes in either country.
The QR payment linkage enables more Indonesians and Malaysians to make instant retail payments in either country by scanning the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) or DuitNow QR codes at physical stores or online merchants using services offered by participating financial institutions. The number of participating institutions, which include banks and non-banks, has increased since the pilot phase, further expanding the cross-border payments ecosystem.
(QRIS and DuitNow QR are the respective national QR code solutions for Indonesia and Malaysia, allowing merchants to accept payments from customers of different participating financial institutions using a unified QR code.)
Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Tan Sri Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus emphasized the growing connectivity within ASEAN and the potential benefits of a secure, seamless, and efficient experience for cross-border payments. “ASEAN is more connected now than ever. Many more users from Malaysia and Indonesia will benefit from a secure, more seamless and more efficient experience to make and receive cross-border payments,” he said. He also highlighted the role of the QR payment linkage in contributing to a more vibrant ASEAN and further development of the region as a center of growth.
The Governor of Bank Indonesia, Mr. Perry Warjiyo, echoed these sentiments, stating that the cross-border QR payment linkage is concrete evidence of strengthened regional cooperation to promote faster, cheaper, more transparent, and more inclusive cross-border payments, particularly for the benefit of micro, small, and medium enterprises. “The linkage aligns with the G20 initiative in establishing the Roadmap for Enhancing Cross Border Payments and serves as a significant deliverable of Indonesia’s chairmanship of the ASEAN in 2023, as well as represents another milestone of the Indonesian Payment System Blueprint 2025,” he said.
Another milestone in cross-border payments
This development comes after the March 2023 launch of the cross-border QR code payment linkage between Singapore and Malaysia, facilitated by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and BNM. That initiative allowed customers of participating financial institutions to make retail payments by scanning NETS QR and DuitNow QR codes, supporting both in-person payments at physical stores and online cross-border e-commerce transactions.
These initiatives were preceded in November 2022, where five regional central banks – BI, BNM, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), MAS, and Bank of Thailand (BOT) – signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on cooperation in regional payment connectivity (RPC). The MoU aims to enhance cooperation on payment connectivity, supporting faster, cheaper, more transparent, and more inclusive cross-border payments.
Meanwhile, the Financial Stability Board (FSB) published a report on 23 February 2023 outlining the next steps for the G20 Roadmap, targeting completion by 2027. The plan covers payment system interoperability and extension, legal, regulatory and supervisory frameworks, and cross-border data exchange and message standards.
The QR payment linkage is expected to strengthen the close economic ties between Indonesia and Malaysia, supporting a more inclusive and stronger post-pandemic economic recovery. As international travel regains momentum, the payment linkage is hoped to provide greater convenience for travelers and benefit the tourism and retail sectors of both economies. The successful launch is a result of close industry collaboration between BI, BNM, the Indonesian Payment System Association, PayNet, and participating financial institutions.