Bank Indonesia and the Bank of Korea have launched a cross-border QR payment link that allows Indonesians to pay in South Korea using QRIS through their domestic mobile apps, in the latest push by Asian central banks to build faster and cheaper regional payment networks.
The rollout was announced on April 1 and follows earlier guidance from Bank Indonesia that the service would go live in April 2026. Transactions are settled directly in the rupiah and won, removing the need for users to first exchange currencies.
The launch adds South Korea to Indonesia’s growing roster of QRIS cross-border partners, which already includes Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Japan, as Southeast Asia’s largest economy expands its local-currency payment infrastructure and tries to reduce friction for tourists and small businesses.
Bank Indonesia said the Korea link forms part of the broader effort to deepen digital economic connectivity between the two countries.
The payment connection was also tied to a joint statement signed during Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto’s April 1 visit to Seoul, where he met South Korean President Lee Jae Myung as the two countries agreed to deepen cooperation across sectors including finance, technology and energy security.
Reuters reported that the summit produced multiple agreements and an upgrade in bilateral ties.
Bank Indonesia Governor Perry Warjiyo said the system would support a more integrated and inclusive payment ecosystem and help strengthen tourism and small and medium-sized enterprises.
Bank of Korea officials said the initiative reflected closer cooperation in digital finance and a shared aim of integrating payment systems further.
QRIS, Indonesia’s national QR code standard, had reached 60.77 million users as of February 2026, underlining the scale of adoption at home before the Korea launch.
Bank Indonesia data also show cross-border usage gathering pace with other partner markets. In 2025, inbound transactions by foreign visitors in Indonesia reached 5.89 million, well above the 1.68 million outbound transactions by Indonesians abroad.
Bank Indonesia said Malaysia has so far generated the biggest volume among its QRIS partners, followed by Thailand, Singapore and Japan.
The Korea link is less about headline transaction value today than about regional plumbing. For Indonesia, the strategic payoff is threefold: more spending convenience for outbound travelers, wider overseas acceptance for QRIS, and stronger support for local-currency settlement as part of its broader financial sovereignty agenda.
For South Korea, the linkage offers easier access to Indonesian tourist spending and a foothold in Asia’s growing interoperable payments network.
