Bank Indonesia (BI) recently spilled the beans that the QRIS payment method will be making its way to Japan and China on August 17, 2025. Deputy Governor Filianingsih Hendarta spilled the tea that BI has been working hard to make this happen, starting with some technical steps and sandbox trials with Japan’s payment system authority in mid-May 2025. Fingers crossed, everything goes smoothly so that Indonesians can start scanning QR codes to make payments in Japan.
In addition to Japan, BI has been making moves with China as well. UnionPay International and the Indonesian Payment System Association (ASPI) have been shaking hands to finalize some important business, technical, and operational details. Four national switching service providers, including PT Rintis Sejahtera (Rintis) and PT Alto Network (Alto), have also jumped on board to help with system development and sandbox testing. Let’s hope everything goes according to plan and trials can kick off on August 17.
When it comes to cross-border QRIS cooperation with India, things are still up in the air as ASPI and NPCI International India are still in the technical discussion stage. The same goes for South Korea, where discussions are ongoing at the industry level. And let’s not forget about the talks with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah in Saudi Arabia is looking to enable digital payments for pilgrims, especially from countries like Indonesia. It seems like BI has its hands full with all these international collaborations.
The main challenge with cross-border QRIS lies in the different payment system structures in each country. Not all countries have their payment system authority under the central bank like Indonesia does. So, BI has to do some serious evaluation of each partner country’s authority structure, tweak some regulations, and align payment system infrastructures before they can move forward with cooperation. It’s a tough nut to crack, but BI is determined to make it work. Let’s see how this all plays out in the end.
