JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) is expanding international QRIS cooperation with Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM). The expansion of this collaboration was marked by the launch of a trial of inter-country payment interconnection using a QR Code between Indonesia and Malaysia, today (27/1).
Through this initiative, people in Indonesia and Malaysia can make retail payments using the QR Code for national payments in Indonesia, namely QRIS (QR Code Indonesian Standard) or QR Code Payment Malaysia, namely DuitNow, at offline and online merchants.
This collaboration begins with a pilot phase and is heading towards the launch of a fully commercial phase in the third quarter of 2022. This collaboration will be expanded in the future to support real-time interstate remittances between Indonesia and Malaysia.
The Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Doni P. Joewono, said, "The initiative to link payments between countries through the interconnection of QR Codes for national payments is a manifestation of the implementation of the Indonesia Payment System Blueprint 2025. Bank Indonesia recognizes the importance of interconnection of payments between countries and will continue to expand the initiative. This is done to provide convenience and expand payment options for people in both countries, which ultimately aims to improve transaction efficiency, support the digitization of trade and investment, and strengthen macroeconomic stability by promoting the use of Local Currency Settlement/LCS (settlement of transactions in local currencies). ) more broadly. The use of direct quotations of local currency exchange rates provided by Appointed Cross Currency Dealer (ACCD) banks under the LCS framework will increase transaction efficiency so that transaction costs become cheaper".
The realization of the QR Code interconnection and interoperability of national payments between Indonesia and Malaysia is a new milestone in facilitating the activities of the people of the two countries, especially for tourists. Indonesia and Malaysia recorded a sizable number of travelers with an average of 5.6 million arrivals annually before the pandemic. (LM)