Bank Indonesia and Bank of Korea Strengthen Cooperation in QR Payments Across Countries

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) and the Bank of Korea have agreed to continue preparations for the implementation of the Indonesia-South Korea cross-border QR payment service, which is scheduled to be used from April 2026.

The agreement emerged at a High Level Meeting attended by the Governor of Bank Indonesia and the Governor of the Bank of Korea.

This cross-country QR payment agreement is the result of a follow-up to the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in July 2024.

This service is expected to increase payment efficiency for people visiting both countries, in line with the implementation of the Local Currency Transaction (LCT) framework between Indonesia and South Korea which has been in effect since September 2024.

Through the interconnection of this system, foreign exchange conversion costs and transaction costs are expected to be reduced, thereby supporting real sector economic activities such as trade, tourism, and consumption in both countries.

The two central banks also agreed to continue discussing cooperation to increase the use of QR payment services between countries, including the expansion of QR-based payment features in a wider payment ecosystem.

Previously, Bank Indonesia (BI) reported that the volume of digital payment transactions through the Indonesian Standard Quick Response Code (QRIS) in the fourth quarter of 2025 continued to grow high reaching 139.99 percent (yoy).

Governor of BI Perry Warjiyo said that the growth of digital economic and financial transactions in the fourth quarter of 2025 remained high supported by a safe, smooth, and reliable payment system.

"The volume of digital payment transactions reached 14.26 billion transactions or grew 39.21 percent (yoy) in the fourth quarter of 2025 supported by the expansion of digital payment acceptance," Perry said in a press conference, Wednesday, January 21.

Furthermore, the transaction volume through mobile and internet applications grew by 12.10 percent (yoy) and 15.10 percent (yoy).

Meanwhile, in terms of infrastructure, the volume of retail transactions processed through BI-FAST reached 1,358.65 million transactions or grew 30.44 percent (yoy) with a transaction value of Rp3,442.26 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Perry said the volume of large value transactions processed through BI-RTGS was recorded at 2.88 million transactions or grew 3.82 percent (yoy), with a value of Rp65,069.78 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Meanwhile, in terms of managing Rupiah money, the Distributed Kartal Money (UYD) grew 12.90 percent (yoy) to Rp1,359.94 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025.