QRIS Coming Soon To China And Saudi Arabia

QRIS (Photo: dock. Antara)

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) plans to expand the scope of the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS)-based payment system to two new countries, namely China and Saudi Arabia.

BI Governor Perry Warjiyo said that currently QRIS can be used in several Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.

In addition, he said that starting August 17, QRIS will also officially be available in Japan for outbound transactions.

"God willing, on August 17, we can use QRIS for an outbound in Japan. We will also launch QRIS trials of interconnection with China and with other countries including Saudi Arabia," he said at the Kick off Hackathon Bank Indonesia, quoted Monday, June 9.

Perry said that since the launch of the Blueprint Indonesian Payment System (BSPI) in November 2019, the QRIS system has shown significant achievements.

As for now, QRIS has reached more than 56 million users and is used by more than 38 million merchants throughout Indonesia.

In addition, Perry revealed that BI-FAST transactions experienced rapid development where in April 2025, retail transaction volume reached 335.34 million transactions, an increase of 42.91 percent on an annual basis (year on year / yoy), with a transaction value of IDR 849.51 trillion.

"BI-FAST transactions that are growing very rapidly are increasingly popular with the public at low costs without stopping quickly and safely," he said.

Previously, Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia Filianingsih Hendarta said that currently Bank Indonesia and the payment system authorities in Japan had been testing since May 15, 2025.

According to him, if there are no obstacles to launching usage, it can be carried out on August 17 which will come or coincide with Indonesia's 80th Anniversary (HUT).

"With Japan, we have carried out a sandbox and it has been going well since May 15 and hopefully without obstacles, which means we can launch the use of the outbound on August 17 to come, so Indonesians who go to Japan can use payments by scanning QR in Japan," he said at a press conference, Wednesday, May 21.

Fili explained that for China, it is currently in the finalization stage in terms of business, technical and operational arrangements between Union Pay Internasional China and the Indonesian side and the Indonesian Payment Systems Association (ASPI).

Currently, there are also agreements between four payment service providers in Indonesia, namely PT Rintis Sejahtera (Rintis), PT Alto Network (Alto), PT Artajasa Payment Electronics (Artajasa), and PT Jalin Payment Nusantara (Jalin) with Union Pay Internasional China for the development of the sandbox system.

"So there is also an agreement between 4 switchings in Indonesia,rintis, alternating, arta services and establishing with China's international union pay for system development and UAT (UAT Use Acceptance Testing) and PPF (Performance, Privacy, and Fairness) as well as sandbox, hopefully the trial can be carried out in the next 17 August," he said.

As for India, Fili said that currently, technical discussions have begun between ASPI and NPCI International India regarding technical specifications and hopes that implementation can be carried out this year.

For Korea, he explained that the process is still in the review and finalization stages of the agreement at the industrial level.

"Because from the inter-authorities side at this central bank we have carried out to the industrial level between ASPI and the Korean Financial Telecommunications and Clearing Institute (KFTC)," he said.

Meanwhile, in collaboration with Saudi Arabia, he said there were positive developments after intensive discussions with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority.

"Currently there is a program that is being encouraged by the saudi arabia kingdom through the ministry of Hajj and Umrah, namely to encourage the use of digital payment for pilgrims and Umrah in Arabic saudi, especially for countries with large congregations, one of which is Indonesia," he said.