Bank Indonesia (BI) and Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) officially launched the cross-border QR payment link between Indonesia and Malaysia on May 8, following a successful pilot phase announced on January 22, 2022. This initiative is a component of the G20’s efforts to ascertain an motion plan for improving cross-border payments and is a key final result of Indonesia’s 2023 ASEAN Chairmanship.
The inauguration of the cross-border QR payment connection between Indonesia and Malaysia was the results of the joint efforts of BI and BNM, cooperation with the Indonesian Payment Systems Association, PayNet and financial institutions participating within the initiative.
This launch also implies that more financial institutions, each banks and non-banks, will take part in this system. It also makes it easier for residents of each countries to make easy retail payments in each countries using Quick Response Code Indonesia Standard (QRIS) or DuitNow QR codes (the national QR code solution for Indonesia and Malaysia) when making purchases, each online and offline.
During the launch event, Bank Indonesia President Perry Warjiyo said that the initiative is a type of true and powerful cooperation in regional payment connectivity, aiming to facilitate faster, inexpensive, transparent and inclusive cross-border payments, especially for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
Moreover, this initiative is a very important final result of this 12 months’s Indonesian ASEAN Chairmanship, in addition to a very important milestone of Indonesia’s Payment System Plan 2025. This link will provide users with more payment options and can play a very important role in improving efficiency, promoting economic inclusion and digital finance within the region and maintaining macroeconomic stability by facilitating greater use of local currencies in bilateral transactions under the Local Currency Transactions Framework.
On the opposite hand, Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Nor Shamsiah Mohd Yunus said that with this cooperation, ASEAN is more connected than ever before. Through this cooperation, each countries may also profit in making and receiving cross-border payments.
Moreover, she also said that these payments could then boost economic activity, including tourism spending in each countries. Additionally, this payment relationship will help some firms expand their markets and facilitate more local currency settlements, leading to higher financial performance. As bilateral payments cooperation between ASEAN countries continues to develop, it’ll contribute to ASEAN’s development as a more dynamic growth center.
In addition to strengthening relations between the 2 countries, this cooperation can be a type of economic recovery after the pandemic. Moreover, as international travel becomes more dynamic, this payment cooperation is anticipated to profit the tourism sector in each countries.
