KUALA LUMPUR, Jan 28 – Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and Bank Indonesia (BI) on Thursday launched a cross-border QR payment linkage, which will enable instant, secure, and efficient cross-border payments between Malaysia and Indonesia.
Through this linkage, consumers in both countries will be able to make retail payments by scanning the Duit Now or QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) QR codes displayed by offline and online merchants, a joint statement from BNM and BI said Thursday.
This marks the beginning of a pilot phase that will pave the way for a full commercial launch in the third quarter of 2022. This linkage will be expanded in the future to support cross-border remittance where users in both countries can make real-time fund transfers with convenience.
The payment connectivity is expected to further strengthen the close economic ties between Malaysia and Indonesia and support post-pandemic economic recovery.
Deputy Governor of BNM Jessica Chew Cheng Lian said the payment linkage between Malaysia and Indonesia marked a key milestone in the long history of collaboration between both countries.
“Phase 2 of the QR payment linkage between Malaysia and Thailand has also gone live this week. Such developments will bring us closer towards realising the vision of creating an ASEAN network of fast and efficient retail payment systems. This in turn will further accelerate our digital transformation and financial integration, for the benefit of individuals and businesses,” she said.
As international travel resumes, tourism will be a key sector that will greatly benefit from this service. The sizeable travel flows between the two countries recorded an average of 5.6 million arrivals yearly before the pandemic.
Both countries are also key remittance corridors for their nationals working abroad who will benefit from faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border remittances.
This initiative is also aligned with the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments developed by the Financial Stability Board and other international bodies, Bank Negara said.
Edited by Sanjay Kumar
–WE