QRIS's Reach to Expand to Vietnam

Bank Indonesia (BI) officially announce has signed an amendment to the Memorandum of Understanding with the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). This collaboration is also the initiator of the Regional Payment Connectivity Cooperation.

SBV's joining in this collaboration is an expansion of payment connectivity efforts that were previously initiated with Bank Negara Malaysia (Malaysia), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (Philippines), Monetary Authority of Singapore (Singapore), and Bank of Thailand (Thailand). With the hope of facilitating payment transactions cross-border between countries in Southeast Asia.

Expand regional financial services

In the future the memorandum of understanding will also cover various forms of cooperation, including QR connectivity and fast payment between countries, so that transactions are expected to be carried out more easily, comfortably, and affordably. The partnership also has the potential to open market access for Indonesian business actors to the region.

Reporting from Nikkei Asia, the Philippines and Brunei will join Southeast Asia's QR Code payment system, which is interconnected and aims to promote the use of local currencies and reduce dependence on the US dollar.

This collaboration is expected by both parties to support post-pandemic economic recovery and facilitate the economic activities of the ASEAN community, including in the tourism and other service sectors. Going forward, strengthening payment system connectivity is expected to provide incentives to increase trade and remittances in the region.

The expansion of Regional Payment System Connectivity Cooperation is a follow-up to the mandate of the 9th ASEAN Central Bank Governors and Ministers of Finance Meeting, and is one of the priority achievements of Indonesia's Chairmanship in ASEAN in 2023.

Application of the QR Code between countries

QRIS Payments is a groundbreaking initiative by the Indonesian government and its financial sector to standardize and simplify digital transactions. Launched in 2019, QRIS aims to unify multiple payment platforms into a single, interoperable system accessible to both businesses and consumers. This step is in line with Indonesia's efforts to implement cashless transactions, encourage digital financial inclusion and convenience.

Thailand became the first country for Bank Indonesia to formalize the National Standard for Payment Open API (SNAP). As well as testing the QRIS sandbox with Thailand (Thai QR Payment) called QRIS Interstate.

Indonesia has also developed the QRIS feature with Singapore. QRIS between countries itself is included in the SNAP section determined by BI to unite various transaction services in Indonesia into one system. SNAP implementation is an important step in accelerating open banking in the payment system area.

Bank Indonesia and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has also inaugurated a strategic partnership for cross-border payment interconnection using the QR Code in May 2023. Indonesians visiting Malaysia can scan the QR Cross Border or DuitNow QR Code, both at offline merchant nor online. Currently, DANA is the first digital wallet platform to be able to transact with QRIS in Malaysia.