Indonesia and China launch cross-border QR payments link

By Parth Prabhudesai

Indonesia and China have officially launched a cross-border QR payments link connecting Indonesia’s QRIS system with Chinese payment platforms, enabling travellers and consumers to make payments using domestic e-wallets in both countries.

The initiative links Indonesia’s Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) with Alipay and the UnionPay App under the supervision of Bank Indonesia and the People’s Bank of China.

Under the arrangement, Alipay and UnionPay users can make payments at more than 40 million QRIS merchants across Indonesia. Indonesian users of QRIS-enabled banking apps and e-wallets can also scan over 80 million Alipay and UnionPay QR codes in China.

The launch is expected to simplify retail payments for tourists and merchants while supporting wider regional efforts to improve interoperability between national payment systems. Merchants do not need to change their existing payment infrastructure, allowing Indonesian businesses to accept payments from Chinese visitors through their existing QRIS codes.

The initiative could particularly benefit Indonesia’s micro, small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up the majority of QRIS merchants. Chinese tourist arrivals to Indonesia surpassed 1.34 million in 2025, increasing the potential for cross-border digital payment usage in retail and tourism sectors.

The payments link also supports efforts to promote local currency usage in international transactions and reduce reliance on cash and traditional card networks for low-value payments.

Ant International, through its Alipay+ platform, is facilitating the interoperability between the payment systems. Michael Guo, General Manager for Southeast Asia, South Asia and ANZ at Ant International, said, “Interoperability is the foundation of the next generation of cross-border payments.”

He added that the launch reflects the company’s commitment to building “an open, seamless payments ecosystem that benefits merchants, consumers, and economies.”