KAREN JOY BACUDO
Finance Editor
Indonesia and China have launched a cross-border QR payments link between QRIS and Chinese payment platforms, allowing users to pay with domestic e-wallets in both markets.
The system connects Indonesia’s Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard with Alipay, the UnionPay App, and QR-enabled Indonesian wallets and banking apps, under the guidance of Bank Indonesia and the People’s Bank of China.
Under the arrangement, Alipay and UnionPay App users can pay at more than 40 million QRIS merchants in Indonesia. In the other direction, users of QRIS-supported e-wallets and banking apps in Indonesia can scan more than 80 million Alipay and UnionPay QR codes in China.
The link extends the reach of national payment systems in two of Asia’s largest consumer markets and allows merchants to accept foreign customers without changing their existing payment setup. For Indonesian sellers, that means an existing QRIS code can be used to accept payments from Chinese travellers.
Merchant access
Indonesia’s merchant base is heavily weighted towards smaller businesses. Most of the 40 million QRIS merchants are micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises, a segment likely to benefit if inbound visitor spending rises.
Chinese arrivals to Indonesia topped 1.34 million in 2025, a six-year high. Easier payment acceptance for travellers could matter to merchants in tourist areas and urban retail centres, especially since smaller firms account for more than 99% of businesses in Indonesia.
The payments link also supports a broader policy goal of increasing the use of local currencies in cross-border transactions. It is expected to improve exchange-rate visibility for users and simplify spending for travellers moving between the two countries.
Regional link
The initiative is part of a wider effort across Asia to make retail payment systems interoperable. Cross-border QR payment links have become a focus for central banks and payment operators looking to reduce dependence on cash and card networks for lower-value consumer transactions.
Alipay+ connects the two payment ecosystems, and UnionPay International is also part of the arrangement. The model allows consumers to pay with familiar domestic apps while merchants receive funds through local payment infrastructure.
The launch also expands QRIS beyond Indonesia’s borders. Officials and industry participants have been working on cross-border QR payment links across ASEAN and nearby markets to improve travel and retail spending flows in the region.
During the pilot phase, cross-border QRIS transactions through Alipay showed what participants described as strong growth momentum. That early activity was cited as evidence of rising awareness and use of QR-based cross-border payments.
For Ant International, the launch extends a strategy of linking national payment schemes with international wallets and merchant networks. Alipay+ works with 50 international e-wallets and banking apps, connecting more than 2 billion user accounts to more than 150 million merchants, including more than 10 national payment schemes across Asia and other regions.
That scale gives payment providers a ready-made network for travel-related spending, but the practical test will be whether consumers adopt cross-border QR payments in sufficient volume to change merchant behaviour and travel spending patterns. In Indonesia, where QRIS is already widely used for domestic purchases, the low additional cost of accepting overseas wallet payments could support adoption.
For Indonesian travellers heading to China, the ability to use home-grown wallets may also reduce friction at the point of sale. Cross-border interoperability has long been a challenge for tourists and small merchants, especially where overseas visitors are accustomed to mobile payments while local acceptance systems are fragmented.
“Interoperability is the foundation of the next generation of cross-border payments,” said Michael Guo, Alipay+ General Manager for Southeast Asia, South Asia and ANZ at Ant International.
“Through Alipay+, we connect national QR schemes with global merchants and wallet users, enabling local businesses to participate in the digital economy on a global scale. This recent launch reflects our continued commitment to building an open, seamless payments ecosystem that benefits merchants, consumers, and economies,” he said.