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ASEAN-5 expand QR-code payments to benefit MSMEs, migrant workers
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Ronadol Numnonda, deputy governor of Bank of Thailand (left); Ravi Menon, managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS); Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo; Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus, governor of the Central Bank of Malaysia; and Mamerto E. Tangonan, deputy governor of The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (right) sit during the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Cooperation in Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC). (Bank Indonesia/PR Team)
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entral banks from five ASEAN member states have inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on regional cross-border payments between countries, in a move that will bring multiplier effects to people and businesses within the region.
The agreement, signed in Bali on Monday, involves Bank Indonesia (BI), Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and Bank of Thailand (BOT).
The cooperation will allow the use of QR codes to facilitate transactions among five ASEAN countries, an innovation previously only available between Indonesia and Thailand.
It will also expedite the process time of transactions between countries to almost-instant or near-real time, a drastic cut from previously taking between two and three days, or sometimes more.
Furthermore, the agreement enables the settling of bilateral transaction by using the local currency prevailing in each country, lowering the cost incurred from the need to convert the figure into US dollars beforehand.
“Today we are just signing the commitment to move forward digital payment connectivity with ASEAN from bilateral into multilateral,” BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said, adding that they also cover future partnerships on a wholesale level and central bank digital currency (CBDC).
Read also: Efficient cross-border payment system can be boon to migrant workers, recovery
