China and Indonesia pilot cross-border QR payments

Selected users from China can now make QR payments in Indonesia using UnionPay and Alipay apps.

Indonesia and China are piloting cross-border QR payments between their countries.

During the sandbox phase, selected users from mainland China can make QR payments using the UnionPay app and Alipay app through QRIS, the unified QR in Indonesia. This will encompass over 40 million QRIS merchants in Indonesia, according to a press release.

At the same time, pilot merchants in the UnionPay and Alipay networks in China can also accept QR payments from 22 Indonesian mobile payment apps.

Cross-border QR payment linkages between China and Indonesia will be settled in their respective local currencies, the press release said.

The QR payment linkage is expected to be fully operational within 2025, following this sandbox phase.

UnionPay International (UPI) had previously signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Indonesian Payment System Association, Ant International, and the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Jakarta branch.

It also signed separate cooperation agreements with four switch networks in Indonesia: Rintis, ALTO, Artajasa, and Jalin.