Something big just happened in the world of digital payments and Indonesia is right in the middle of it. Bank Indonesia (BI) has officially brought South Korea into its cross-border payment network, making QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) now accepted in five countries. It joins Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Japan, which were already part of the network before this latest expansion.
The concept is straightforward. Indonesian travelers heading abroad can pay using QRIS, and foreign tourists coming to Indonesia can do the same. It is all through a simple QR code scan. No cash, no card, no hassle.
The launch was timed with something significant. It happened on Wednesday, April 1, 2026, right as President Prabowo Subianto was meeting South Korean President Lee Jae-myung at Cheong Wa Dae — the Blue House — in Seoul. Timing like that doesn’t happen by accident.
What stands out about this partnership is how fast it came together. BI Deputy Governor Filianingsih Hendarta pointed out that South Korea was the quickest to implement among all five partner countries.
“QRIS with South Korea made its debut in record time. Probably less than a year,” she said at BI’s Thamrin Building in Jakarta.
The reason it moved so fast comes down to one thing: South Korea already has strong QR code adoption for merchant payments. That meant the technical side of things came together much more smoothly than with previous partners.
To make the moment more concrete, BI Deputy Governor Aida S. Budiman did a live QRIS outbound payment test at Myeongdong, one of Seoul’s busiest shopping and food districts, streamed through a video conference.
Beyond the milestone itself, BI sees this as part of a bigger mission. Filianingsih tied the expansion directly to two pillars inside Indonesia’s Payment System Blueprint (BSPI) 2030: Innovation and Internationalization. Cross-border QRIS, she said, creates real opportunities in tourism, trade, and the SME sector, and pushes Indonesia’s payment reach from a regional level to a genuinely global one.
The numbers already suggest that’s not just talk. In 2025, Indonesian travelers made 1,681,112 outbound QRIS transactions across Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, and Japan. On the other side, inbound transactions from tourists of those three ASEAN countries into Indonesia reached 5,892,621 — a much larger figure. Data for Japan’s inbound transactions hasn’t been recorded yet since the service only kicked off this year.
The roadmap doesn’t stop at South Korea. BI has China, Saudi Arabia, and India in its sights for future expansion, with China being the closest target.
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“Hopefully next month we’ll already be connected with China as well,” said Filianingsih.
She also noted what’s happening at home. QRIS is quietly eating into credit card territory, at least for smaller purchases.
“For smaller amounts, we no longer use credit cards — we use QRIS more often now,” she said.
Five countries down. More on the way.
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