Indonesia and China Begin QR Payment Trial to Connect Travelers and Small Businesses

A payment link launched on Independence Day

Indonesia and China began a trial connecting their QR code payment systems on August 17, 2025, Indonesia's 80th Independence Day. The project aims to let travelers pay with familiar apps across the two countries, while giving small businesses a simpler way to accept money from foreign customers.

The trial links Indonesia's Quick Response Indonesian Standard, known as QRIS, with China's digital payment networks, including UnionPay. As of August 18, the project was in its testing phase. A date for a full public launch had not been given; wider availability would follow successful completion of the trial.

The scale of the potential connection is large. QRIS, launched in 2019, had more than 57 million users and 29 million registered merchants as of 2025, most of them small and medium enterprises. In China, nearly 96% of mobile users rely on QR payments for purchases ranging from street food to luxury goods.

For a Chinese visitor shopping in Indonesia, the intended change is straightforward: scan an Indonesian merchant's QRIS code using a familiar app supported by UnionPay. An Indonesian visitor in China would be able to use a participating domestic app to pay through Chinese QR codes.

The project brings together two markets where paying by phone is already common. Its practical goal is to make those domestic habits work abroad, reducing the need to carry cash, find a currency exchange counter or depend on an international credit card.

How a QR payment crosses a border

A QR, or Quick Response, code lets a customer start a payment by scanning a code with a smartphone. The app transfers funds between accounts, allowing a merchant to receive payment without handling notes or coins.

Crossing a border adds another task: the customer's payment service and the merchant's payment service must communicate even though they operate in different countries and currencies. Connecting their networks is intended to let travelers pay directly from their home bank accounts in local currency.

For users, this means fewer steps between choosing something and paying for it. The arrangement is also intended to provide better exchange rates and lower fees than traditional payment methods, while reducing the inconvenience of handling unfamiliar cash.

Interoperability is the technical term for this connection. In simple terms, it means that separate payment systems can understand and process one another's transactions. The Indonesia and China trial is testing how to make that work across their networks.

Who is building and testing the connection?

Indonesia's Payment System Association, known as ASPI, China's UnionPay International and several local payment service providers are involved in the pilot. Technical, business and operational agreements have been finalized.

Four Indonesian switching service providers have signed on to develop the system together and conduct sandbox trials. Switching providers help route payment instructions between participating services. A sandbox is a controlled testing environment where the connection can be checked before it is made widely available.

The planned service works in both directions. Chinese visitors would use apps supported by UnionPay to scan QRIS codes in Indonesia, while Indonesian travelers would use their domestic apps to pay through Chinese QR codes.

Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo described the project as part of a continuing effort to broaden access to digital payments and financial services.

QRIS innovation continues to evolve to expand acceptance and support digital economic and financial inclusion, with cross-border QRIS being one such innovation.

The next step is to complete the trial successfully before an official launch. The operational work therefore matters as much as the announcement: payment providers must be able to process transactions across the connection before customers can use it widely.

Why tourism is central to the project

Indonesia sees easier payments as one way to attract Chinese visitors and encourage them to spend across more destinations. Chinese tourists are accustomed to paying by QR code at home, so accepting their familiar payment methods could make purchases easier at attractions, restaurants and small shops.

Indonesia's tourism ambitions provide the context. The country aimed to attract up to 1.5 million Chinese tourists in 2024, following a record of more than 2 million in 2019, before the pandemic. Those figures describe a tourism target and an earlier visitor record.

Indonesia's Ministry of Tourism and Creative Economy places the expanded QR payment system within a broader strategy to increase the number of Chinese tourists, the length of their stays and their spending. Easier payments are expected to support visits to destinations ranging from Bali to Sumatra.

Indonesian tour leaders also expect the connection to simplify payments for clients traveling in China. International cards are often not accepted outside major Chinese cities, making QR payments a useful alternative. Using a domestic app abroad could reduce the need to juggle several payment options during a trip.

What small businesses stand to gain

Indonesia's 29 million registered QRIS merchants give the planned connection a substantial domestic base. Most are small and medium enterprises, businesses for which accepting a foreign customer's payment can be a practical barrier to making a sale.

A merchant already accepting QRIS could gain access to Chinese visitors who prefer paying through familiar apps. For businesses serving tourists, the opportunity is to turn an existing domestic payment method into a way to receive money from international customers.

Micro, small and medium enterprises, often grouped under the abbreviation MSMEs, can accept QR payments without expensive equipment for taking payments at a sales counter. This helps smaller sellers participate in digital commerce without the cost of more elaborate payment hardware.

The expected benefits extend to business transactions across borders. Faster, secure settlement can reduce reliance on cash and simplify currency conversion. For Indonesian sellers catering to Chinese tourists, and Indonesian travelers buying goods in China, the proposed connection could make transactions more convenient.

Existing regional connections already offer a glimpse of that convenience. A Malaysian tourist in Jakarta described being able to pay at a convenience store using an electronic wallet after running out of cash. The experience illustrates the practical value of a payment app continuing to work away from home.

As participation expands, more merchants and consumers would be able to use these connections. Wider acceptance is central to the expected gains in convenience, security and access to new customers.

How Indonesia's regional network has grown

Indonesia already has QRIS connections with Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore, allowing users to pay at participating merchants across those borders in both directions. Japan joined the network in August 2025, while India and South Korea are part of the next stage of technical testing and expansion.

The connections have generated substantial activity. Since August 2022, QRIS facilitated nearly 1 million transactions worth more than Rp 437 billion, about $27 million, in Thailand. In Malaysia, it facilitated more than 4 million transactions worth Rp 1.15 trillion, about $71 million.

The Malaysia transaction value was more than twice the Thailand figure, based on Rp 1.15 trillion compared with Rp 437 billion. The figures show that the regional links are already being used for purchases, providing a practical setting for Indonesia's expansion toward China.

The development spans several years:

• 2019: Indonesia launched QRIS, establishing its national standard for QR payments.
• August 2022: The period cited for QRIS transaction activity with Thailand began.
• 2023: ASEAN leaders adopted a declaration supporting regional payment connections and local currency transactions.
• August 2025: Japan joined Indonesia's QR payment network.
• August 17, 2025: Indonesia and China began their payment connection trial on Indonesia's 80th Independence Day.

Bank Indonesia is planning further expansion, including technical trials in India and South Korea. Indonesia's ambitions also extend to Saudi Arabia. President Joko Widodo has described the cross-border payment initiative as a first step into the global digital world.

Why ASEAN is connecting payment systems

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, has made digital payment connectivity a priority for regional economic integration. Its 2023 ASEAN Leaders' Declaration on Advancing Regional Payment Connectivity and Promoting Local Currency Transactions set out support for approaches driven by payment innovation.

The aim includes reducing reliance on external currencies such as the US dollar and strengthening the region's ability to withstand economic disruption. Letting customers and merchants transact in local currencies gives national payment systems a larger role in commerce across borders.

QR payments also address everyday access to financial services. A smartphone and an internet connection allow people to use the payment method, while merchants can accept digital payments without expensive sales equipment. This can widen access among people with limited access to conventional banking services.

ASEAN's wider payment agenda includes tourism and remittances, the money people send to others across borders. Easier connections can help travelers pay for purchases and migrant workers send money home.

Regional habits support the focus on QR technology. A 2024 Data Reportal study placed China, Malaysia and Thailand among the world's leaders in QR code use, with monthly usage rates above 60%. Indonesia is also a regional leader in electronic wallet and QR payment adoption: QRIS transactions reached Rp 98.5 trillion, about $6.5 billion, in 2022.

What regulators and providers still need to solve

Payment providers must connect more than the codes displayed at a checkout. Countries need compatible arrangements for data privacy, consumer protection, cybersecurity and electronic signatures so transactions can work consistently across their systems.

Reliable internet access is another requirement. Gaps in connectivity, particularly in rural areas, can limit where digital payments are practical. Strong cybersecurity is needed to protect the services as their use expands.

Customers also need to understand how to pay safely and what to do when a transaction goes wrong. Disputes and fraud become more complicated when the buyer, merchant and payment providers operate in different countries, making clear consumer protection arrangements part of the work.

Merchant participation remains equally important. A traveler benefits from an international connection only where a participating business can accept the payment. Expanding acceptance is therefore necessary for the system to become useful beyond a limited group of shops and destinations.

ASEAN is addressing these issues through collaborative efforts that include regional regulatory sandboxes and funds bringing together public and private investment in digital infrastructure. Financial literacy campaigns and stronger consumer protection frameworks are also being developed to support safe, responsible use.

What the connection means for regional finance

China's participation gives Indonesia's payment expansion a connection to a market where paying by QR code is deeply established. UnionPay International's work with ASPI is part of a broader Chinese effort to connect its payment networks with partners in Southeast Asia and beyond.

For Indonesia, the project supports its role in regional financial integration and payment innovation. Its existing links with Southeast Asian neighbors, Japan's entry and planned expansion toward other countries form a growing network around QRIS.

Local currency payments are also part of a wider effort by ASEAN countries to exercise greater control over how regional transactions are settled. Reducing dependence on the US dollar is one stated goal of that effort.

The broader ambition is an international financial system in which emerging economies have a larger role in shaping payment arrangements and economic governance. Connecting domestic networks offers one practical route toward that ambition, with benefits intended to reach consumers and businesses.

As of August 18, 2025, the immediate task for Indonesia and China is to finish testing their connection. Successful completion would open the way to a full launch, allowing participating users to make purchases across the two countries through their existing payment apps.

Key Points

• Indonesia and China began their QR payment trial on August 17, 2025, Indonesia's 80th Independence Day.
• The project connects QRIS with Chinese payment networks, including UnionPay, for payments in both directions.
• QRIS had more than 57 million users and 29 million registered merchants as of 2025, most of them small and medium enterprises.
• ASPI, UnionPay International, local payment providers and four Indonesian switching providers are involved in development and testing.
• The intended benefits include easier tourist spending, simpler currency conversion, lower payment costs and wider customer access for small businesses.
• Indonesia already has connections with Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore; Japan joined in August 2025.
• Consumer protection, cybersecurity, reliable internet access and merchant acceptance remain key tasks.
• A full launch depends on successful testing, and no launch date had been given.