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Indonesia, Thailand debut cross-border QR payment system
Bank Indonesia (BI) launched the Cross-Border QR Payment Linkage on Tuesday in collaboration with the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to boost financial integration in Southeast Asia.
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A small coffee business displays its goods and QRIS code at an MSME event in Bangli, Bali, on September 8, 2020. Bank Indonesia is testing a system that will enable cross-border payments between QRIS and Thai QR Payment to simplify bilateral transactions. (Courtesy of the Tourism and Creative Economy Ministry)
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ank Indonesia (BI) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT) began testing on Tuesday a system that enables cross-border payments via the countries’ national standard QR code networks, hoping to strengthen financial integration in Southeast Asia.
The Cross-Border QR Payment Linkage enables merchants and customers in both countries to make and accept payments using either the QR Code Indonesia Standard (QRIS) or the Thai QR Payment networks. The system allows funds to travel through a network of Indonesian and Thai banks, switching companies and payment system providers.
BI and BOT wrote in a joint statement on Tuesday that the system was in a trial phase, and was expected to become fully commercial in the first quarter of 2022.
“This pilot, which BI calls an ‘industrial sandbox’, is on the path to further expansion of cross-border payments in the region,” said BI deputy governor Sugeng in the statement.
He added that the cross-border system was expected to facilitate transactions in the tourist sector and assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in tourist areas in both countries.
Read also: BI pushes for open banking development amid data security concerns
The cross-border QR code payment system is the result of BI’s efforts over the past few years to digitally integrate Indonesia's finance industry and reduce United States dollar dependency in bilateral transactions.
