OSAKA: Bank Indonesia (BI) is set to pilot its Quick Response Indonesia Standard (QRIS) system in China next month, following its recent Japan launch that marked the payment system’s first expansion beyond Asean.
“The cross-border QR payment arrangement is on a government-to-government basis,” Indonesian Payment System Association (ASPI) head Cosmas Setiawan Suwono told reporters on the sidelines of the QRIS launch on Monday at the World Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan.
“So, we will await further directives from BI regarding the next target. The next target is next month – we will continue cooperation with China.”
BI previously announced its collaboration with the People’s Bank of China to begin an “interconnection trial” between the two countries ahead of its planned expansion to China.
The initiative is set to facilitate bilateral trade, particularly for micro, small and medium enterprises, while also supporting growth in tourism.
The trial involves the ASPI, China’s UnionPay International and representatives of payment system providers.
“We expect the trial to be completed within this month, so that, next month, we can begin piloting,” he added.
The central bank said in April that four local payment service providers, PT Rintis Sejahtera, PT Alto Network, PT Artajasa Pembayaran Elektronis and PT Jalin Pembayaran Nusantara, had an agreement with UnionPay International to create a secure testing environment, or sandbox.
QRIS began its debut in Japan on Indonesia’s 80th independence anniversary, with the service already available in Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore so far and with plans for further expansion.
In its initial rollout in Japan, QRIS debuted at 35 merchants, enabling Indonesians to make transactions by scanning JPQR Global using local payment apps.
At the same time, a reciprocal implementation of system compatibility is to allow Japanese visitors to make transactions at merchants in Indonesia by scanning QRIS codes with their domestic payment apps.
The central bank stated that the initiative complemented cooperation between Indonesia and Japan on local currency settlement, for which an agreement was signed in 2019 and implementation began in 2020.
LCS aims to boost trade and investments without relying on third-party currencies, as well as reducing the cost of forex conversions. — The Jakarta Post/ANN
