QR Code-based payment has been agreed upon by Bank Indonesia (BI/the central bank) and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI).

Jakarta (Indonesia Window) – Bank Indonesia (BI/the central bank) and Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation(MOC) regarding a QR code-based payment.

Bank Indonesia was represented by the Head of the BI Payment System Policy Department, Filianingsih Hendarta, and METI was by the Director General of Trade and Service Industry Policy, Mogi Tadashi, in the signing of the MOC, which took place on Dec. 9, 2022 in Tokyo.

The activity was witnessed by Deputy Governor of Bank Indonesia, Dody Budi Waluyo, and METI Parliamentary Vice-Minister, Makoto Nagamine, Bank Indonesia said in its official statement in Jakarta, Friday.

Deputy Governor Dody B. Waluyo, said that the cooperation between BI and METI would be a major concern for regulators and the industry considering that the intended MOC could strengthen economic relations between Indonesia and Japan.

In addition, a payment connectivity also needs to be linked to a framework to encourage the use of local currencies in order to support international trade and investment activities so as to create efficient cross-border retail and wholesale transactions.

The payment cooperation with this system is intended to accelerate the cooperation regarding the implementation and interoperability of cross-border or country payments using QR codes, namely the QR Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) and the Japan Unified QR Code (JPQR).

This collaboration is expected to build a framework that facilitates the QR code-based payment between the two countries, including for third parties such as payment system operators.

The agreement marks the start of cooperation between BI and METI Japan to carry out various activities related to the interconnectivity of the QR code-based payment system.

These activities include policy dialogue, technical cooperation, and the formation of working groups to ensure the achievement of goals, including efforts to implement the QR code-based cross-border payment to support transactions between peoples in the two countries.

It is hoped that this can encourage the digitization of payment systems in both Indonesia and Japan.

This payment system cooperation is at the same time a concrete manifestation of the implementation of the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments, as well as being a breakthrough in strengthening regional economic integration in line with Indonesia's chairmanship in ASEAN and Japan's co-chairmanship in ASEAN+3 in 2023.

Bank Indonesia continues to strive to initiate, strengthen and expand cooperation with various international strategic partners, both bilaterally and multilaterally, with various central banks and international partner authorities so as to create a cross-border payment system that is cheaper, faster, inclusive and transparent.

Reporting by Indonesia Window