BI Opens Voice About QRIS And GPN, Affirms No State Discrimination

JAKARTA - Bank Indonesia (BI) has opened its voice regarding the application of the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard aka QRIS and the National Payment Gate/GPN which is in the spotlight of the United States Government (US).

Senior Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Destry Damayanti emphasized that he did not respond specifically to the issue.

However, he explained that payment system cooperation such as QRIS and fast payment with other countries really depends on the readiness of each country.

"Essentially, qris or other fast payments for our cooperation with other countries really depend on the readiness of each country, so we don't discriminate if America is ready, we are ready, why not, right," said Destry to the media crew, Monday, April 21.

He also added that until now, credit cards such as Visa and Mastercard still dominate transactions and there are no significant problems related to this.

"Even now, the credit card that is always captured by the master's visa is still dominant, so there is no real problem," he said.

Previously, Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that the government had prepared a number of policies for the financial sector.

"We have coordinated with OJK and Bank Indonesia, especially regarding the payment requested by the American side," he said at a press conference, Friday, April 18.

However, Airlangga did not explain in more detail what steps the government would take with Bank Indonesia and the Financial Services Authority (OJK) to face Trump's rates.

To note in the National Trade Estate (NE) Report on Foreign Trade Barriers 2025 document released at the end of March, the US Trade Representative (USTR) also highlighted a number of regulations from Bank Indonesia (BI), and the Financial Services Authority (OJK).

One of the highlights is the BI Regulation No. 19/08/2017 concerning the National Payment Gateway (NPG) requires all domestic retail transactions using debit cards and credit to be processed through NPG switching institutions located in Indonesia and licensed from BI.

Meanwhile, this regulation also limits foreign ownership in NPG switching institutions to a maximum of 20 percent, as well as prohibits the provision of cross-border electronic payment services for domestic retail transactions.

In BI regulation No. 19/08/2017 concerning the National Payment Gateway (NPG) requires all domestic retail transactions using debit cards and credit to be processed through NPG switching institutions located in Indonesia and licensed from BI.

The partnership must obtain approval from BI, which requires support from foreign parties for the development of domestic industries, including through technology transfers.

In addition, in BI regulation No. 21 of 2019, which sets the national standard for payment systems based on QR or QRIS (Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard) codes, and requires its use for all QR-based payments in Indonesia is also in the spotlight of the US Government.

US companies, including payment service providers and banks, expressed concern that international stakeholders were not adequately involved in the policy formulation process.

According to them, there is no notification regarding the potential for policy changes, and there is no opportunity to convey views related to the design of the system and how the system should interact with the existing payment infrastructure.

In addition, in May 2023, BI requires all government credit card transactions to be processed through the National Payment Gate (GPN) and also requires the issuance and use of credit cards by local governments.

"US payment companies are concerned that this new policy will limit access to the use of US electronic payment options," the USTR wrote in the NTE document.