JAKARTA, 12 May 2026: Under the guidance of Bank Indonesia and the People’s Bank of China, the China-Indonesia cross-border QR payment linkage was launched at a recent event in Jakarta.
It involves collaboration between Indonesia’s Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) and China’s leading payment ecosystems, enabled by Alipay+, the unified wallet gateway of Ant International, and UnionPay International.
A milestone in regional connectivity, the initiative opens a new bridge for commerce between China’s 1.4 billion people and Indonesia’s 280 million citizens. Consumers from both countries can now make seamless and secure QR code payments using their home e-wallets.
At the launch, users of Alipay, an Alipay+ wallet partner, and the UnionPay App can pay at more than 40 million QRIS merchants across Indonesia, mostly MSMEs. On the other hand, QRIS-supported e-wallets and bank apps will be able to scan more than 80 million Alipay and UnionPay QR codes in China.
The implementation of QR payments between Indonesia and China strengthens the commitment to using local currencies in cross-border transactions, enhances exchange rate visibility and travel convenience, and promotes more efficient tourism and trade flows.
Driving growth for local merchants
This linkage significantly expands access for local businesses — especially micro and small enterprises—to international customers across two major Asian economies. For local Indonesian merchants, the launch requires no new hardware or integration: an existing merchant QRIS code is all that’s needed to accept payments from Chinese travellers, unlocking new revenue streams from inbound tourism and cross-border consumption.
In 2025, Chinese arrivals to Indonesia reached a six-year high, with more than 1.34 million visitors. Enabling frictionless payment for these visitors has a direct impact on merchant revenues, particularly for the MSMEs, who account for over 99% of all businesses in Indonesia.
The QRIS–China linkage reflects a broader push toward interoperable, real-time payment connectivity across Asia. The cross-border QR payment linkage is a government-to-government initiative supported by industry partners like Ant International. Alipay+ provides the technical layer that connects both ecosystems, enabling interoperability between payment systems and allowing users to pay with their home wallets. At the same time, merchants receive funds through their existing domestic infrastructure.
This collaboration is part of ongoing efforts to create an open, inclusive payments ecosystem that supports regional trade, travel, and digital economic growth. It also builds on efforts to expand QRIS cross-border connectivity across ASEAN and beyond.
Cross-border QRIS transactions via Alipay showed strong growth momentum during the pilot phase, reflecting growing awareness and engagement with cross-border QR transactions. It also emphasises the importance of strengthening innovation and digital readiness to ensure that digital transformation adds value to the national economy.
As merchant adoption and wallet connections expand, the initiative is expected to accelerate digital payment usage further, strengthen financial inclusion, and deepen economic connectivity among Indonesia, China, and the broader region.
The Indonesia-China launch reflects Alipay+’s commitment to connecting with national payment schemes. As a unified wallet gateway, Alipay+ partners with 50 international e-wallets and bank apps, connecting their more than 2 billion user accounts to more than 150 million merchants, including over 10 national payment schemes across Asia and beyond.
Ant International is a leading global digital payment, digitisation, and financial technology provider. It offers a unified techfin platform that helps financial institutions and merchants of all sizes achieve inclusive growth. Its unified wallet gateway, Alipay+, provides cross-border payment and digital services that help connect global merchants to consumers.
(Source: Ant International)
