Digital Payment Developments in ASEAN
Southeast Asian countries continue to deepen electronic linkages between their national payment systems. Cambodia and Thailand recently launched the second phase of their cross-border QR payment system. In the first week of May, Bank Indonesia and Bank Negara Malaysia announced the commercial launch of Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) and Malaysia's DuitNow interconnected QR payment systems for both in-person and online retail.
The ASEAN-5, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore, signed an agreement to establish cross-border digital payment systems using QR codes last year. Currently, QRIS codes can already be used in Thailand and Malaysia. As of May 2023, tourists in Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia can already scan each other’s QR codes for payments. Meanwhile, Vietnam and Thailand launched their interlinked QR code payment services earlier in 2022.
QRIS and Singapore's SGQR linkage will launch by end-2023. Additionally, Singapore, Vietnam and the Philippines as well as Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia are also expected to be connected by the end of 2023. Individual bilateral agreements have also been formed between Thailand and Cambodia. Thailand has initiated a cross-border fund transfer using QR codes with Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam since 2019 and they are looking to upgrade it into cross-border payment systems.