Indonesia in talks to expand cross-border digital payment system to Saudi Arabia, India
JAKARTA: Indonesia’s central bank is working to expand its digital payment system to Saudi Arabia, India and Hong Kong, as it seeks to further promote economic connectivity across Asia.
In Southeast Asia, Indonesia has been leading the adoption of payments using quick-response code, or QR, part of a global shift to digital finance that allows users to leave cash behind.
Since 2019, Bank Indonesia has required digital payment services to use standardized QR codes known as QRIS — pronounced as Kris — to ensure all banks and electronic wallets are interoperable, giving way to a seamless payment system that is now almost ubiquitous in most major cities in the country, boasting nearly 62 million users.
Central bank officials are in talks with their counterparts in Saudi Arabia, India and Hong Kong to further QRIS’s reach beyond Indonesia, after the system expanded to 10 countries, including China, Singapore, Japan and South Korea.
