GoPay expands QRIS payments to Japan, eyes China next

GoPay users can now make payments at QRIS-enabled merchants in Japan, following Bank Indonesia’s move to expand its cross-border QR code payment system to the country in August 2025.

This allows Indonesian travelers to pay at Japanese merchants by scanning JPQR codes using the GoPay app.

GoPay, operated by GoTo Financial, already supports QRIS cross-border payments in Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore.

Bank Indonesia has also started a pilot to connect QRIS with China’s digital payment systems, aiming for full launch by the end of 2025.

The central bank reported cross-border QRIS transactions reached 1.7 trillion rupiah (US$103.6 billion) as of June 2025.

GoTo Financial said the initiative supports Bank Indonesia’s efforts to expand QRIS cross-border access.

🔗 Source: GoTo Financial

🧠 Food for thought

Implications, context, and why it matters.

Unified payment standards can accelerate both domestic adoption and international expansion

QRIS solved Indonesia’s payment fragmentation problem when it launched in August 2019, allowing merchants to accept payments from any e-wallet or bank through a single QR code instead of multiple competing systems 1.
This standardization drove massive scale: QRIS processed 2.6 billion transactions worth approximately $15.5 billion in Q1 2025 alone, with users growing from 48 million to 56.3 million year-over-year 2.
The domestic success created a foundation for international expansion—QRIS transactions now represent nearly 5% of Indonesia’s GDP, giving it the scale and credibility needed for cross-border partnerships 2.
Cross-border transactions surged 225.54% year-on-year, with Malaysia seeing a 238% increase, demonstrating how unified domestic systems can extend internationally when they achieve critical mass 2.
The 92.5% of QRIS merchants being micro, small, and medium enterprises shows how standardization particularly benefits smaller businesses that couldn’t previously afford multiple payment systems 2.