TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Bank Indonesia (BI) states that the cross-border digital payment system, Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard or QRIS, can be used by Indonesian citizens in Japan and China starting Sunday, August 17, 2025.
BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said the development of cross-border digital payment systems is based on three main principles, including national interests, synergy between authorities, and support from the industry players. He mentioned that this approach is reflected in the blueprint of Indonesia's payment system, which considers international cooperation as part of the national strategy.
"There are stages where the industry will communicate. After aligning with national interests and industry agreements, the third stage will be implemented for all industry players," said Perry in a press conference following the BI Board of Governors Meeting in Jakarta, Wednesday, May 21, 2025, as quoted from Antara.
So, where are the countries that can already serve payments using QRIS?
List of Countries that Can Use QRIS
In the initial phase, BI has collaborated with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). According to BI's official website, this cooperation was marked by the launch of a pilot interconnection of cross-border payments using QR codes between Indonesia and Malaysia on Thursday, January 27, 2022.
Through this agreement, residents in Indonesia and Malaysia can make retail payments using QRIS and the DuitNow Malaysia QR payment code. The pilot was followed by the full commercial phase launch in the third quarter of 2022.
Then, on Monday, August 29, 2022, BI and the Bank of Thailand (BoT) officially implemented a cross-border QR code-based payment cooperation, namely QRIS and Thai QR Codes. The cooperation began with a trial on Tuesday, August 17, 2021, and continued with the involvement of 76 payment system service providers from both countries.
Next, on Thursday, August 17, 2023, BI announced the start of a trial interconnection of payments between Indonesia and Singapore using QR codes. This is a follow-up to the cooperation between BI and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in the previous year.
As a result, for now, cross-border QRIS is only applicable in three countries, namely:
1. Malaysia,
2. Thailand, and
3. Singapore.
Plans for Cooperation with India to Saudi Arabia
Regarding the implementation plans of QRIS in Japan, BI Deputy Filianingsih Hendarta said they have agreed on several technical steps up to the sandbox testing phase with the authorities of the payment system in the Land of the Rising Sun since mid-May 2025.
"Hopefully, if there are no significant obstacles, we can launch the use of the outbound QRIS on the upcoming August 17. So, Indonesian people going to Japan can use the QR scan payment in Japan," said Filianingsih in a press conference following the BI Board of Governors Meeting in Jakarta, Wednesday, May 21, 2025.
Meanwhile, for cooperation with China, she also claimed that there has been positive progress. She mentioned that the finalization of business, technical, and operational arrangements has been agreed upon between Unionpay International from China with the Indonesian Payment Systems Association (ASPI).
She explained that four national switching service providers have also made agreements with Unionpay International for the development and sandbox testing. These four switching service providers consist of PT Alto Network (Alto), PT Artajasa Electronic Payment (Artajasa), PT Jalin Payment Nusantara (Jalin), and PT Rintis Sejahtera (Rintis).
"Hopefully, the trial can also be conducted on the upcoming August 17," said Filianingsih.
In addition, BI is also collaborating with India through the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), which is still in the stage of technical discussions. As for cross-border QRIS in South Korea, Filianingsih said that it is still in the process of study and finalization at the industry level between ASPI and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute.
"In terms of inter-authority at central banks, we have already done this. Currently, it has reached the industry level, between ASPI and the Korea Financial Telecommunications and Clearings Institute," said Filianingsih.
Furthermore, with regard to Saudi Arabia, she said that BI has held discussions with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. She mentioned that the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is also currently promoting the use of digital payment systems for pilgrimage and umrah, especially for countries with a large number of pilgrims such as Indonesia.
"Hopefully, later this month, we will have in-depth discussions with the Ministry of Hajj and Umrah of Saudi Arabia," said Filianingsih.
Editor's Choice: Indonesia's QRIS to Launch in Japan on August 17, 2025
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