Indonesia’s central bank, Bank Indonesia (BI), plans to launch the Indonesian Standard QR Code payment system (QRIS) in China by the end of 2025.

The central bank has tested QRIS in China since August 2025 with partners including the Indonesian Payment System Association, UnionPay International, and payment providers.

Bank Indonesia said it is in the final phase of sandbox testing and will move to full implementation once all requirements are met.

The rollout will allow users to make payments in China using QRIS, after similar launches in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and Japan.

In Thailand, QRIS has recorded nearly 995,000 transactions worth 437.5 billion rupiah (US$26.8 million) since August 2022.

Malaysia has seen 4.3 million QRIS transactions valued at Rp 1.2 trillion rupiah (US$73.6 million) since May 2023, while Singapore recorded 238,216 transactions worth 77.1 billion rupiah (US$4.7 million) since November 2023.

QRIS digital payment transactions rose 148.5% year-on-year in Q2 2025, driven by more users and merchants.

🔗 Source: Kompas.com

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Indonesia taps into China’s massive mobile payment ecosystem

Indonesia’s QRIS expansion into China represents entry into the world’s most advanced mobile payment market.

China leads globally with 92% of consumers using QR-code-driven digital wallets, and approximately 954 million people actively use mobile payment services as of 202423.

This creates enormous market potential compared to Indonesia’s existing cross-border implementations, where Thailand recorded 994,890 QRIS transactions worth Rp 437.54 billion since August 2022, and Malaysia reached 4.31 million transactions worth Rp 1.15 trillion since May 20231.

The scale difference is significant. China’s mobile payment giants Alipay and WeChat Pay processed transaction volumes of RMB 118.19 trillion and RMB 67.81 trillion respectively in just Q3 20232.

Indonesia’s partnership with UnionPay International for the sandbox testing phase positions QRIS to integrate with China’s existing infrastructure, potentially accessing this vast user base of Chinese consumers both domestically and when traveling abroad.

2️⃣ Cross-border QR systems deliver substantial cost savings and financial inclusion