Indonesian QR code payment system now works in Japan

Indonesia’s QRIS payment system is now accepted in Japan as of August 17, 2025, marking its first expansion outside ASEAN.

QRIS, Indonesia’s national QR code payment platform, can be used at 35 merchants in Japan, allowing Indonesian visitors to pay by scanning JPQR Global with their domestic apps.

Bank Indonesia developed this cross-border payment initiative in partnership with the Indonesian Payment System Association.

Bank Indonesia announced it has started trialing QRIS connectivity with China, in cooperation with the People’s Bank of China, UnionPay International, ASPI, and representatives of payment system operators.

The central bank said cross-border QRIS has facilitated 994,890 transactions with Thailand since August 2022 and 4.3 million with Malaysia since May 2023.

Expansion to more merchants in Japan and reciprocal acceptance for Japanese visitors in Indonesia are planned.

The launch involved cooperation with Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry, Payment Japan Association, Netstars, and participating financial institutions.

🔗 Source: Bank Indonesia

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ National payment systems require years of domestic maturity before successful international expansion

QRIS’s Japan launch on August 17, 2025, marks exactly six years since its domestic debut on August 17, 2019 1, demonstrating how digital payment infrastructure requires substantial time to mature before cross-border scaling.

This timeline reflects the complex technical and regulatory groundwork needed for international interoperability.

The system had to first prove its domestic viability, growing from Indonesia’s fragmented landscape of 38 registered e-wallet apps in 2019 to a unified platform serving 57 million users today.

The sequential rollout pattern shows strategic market selection, starting with neighboring ASEAN countries where regulatory alignment and economic ties were stronger, before expanding to more complex markets like Japan.

2️⃣ Cross-border QR payment adoption varies significantly by market characteristics

Transaction data from QRIS’s existing international implementations reveals stark differences in usage patterns across countries.