UnionPay International, in collaboration with its partners, has announced the pilot launch of cross-border QR payment linkage between China and Indonesia.
Following this announcement, during this sandbox phase, selected users from China's mainland will have the possibility to make QR payments using the UnionPay App and Alipay app at several QRIS merchants in Indonesia.
Meanwhile, pilot merchants in the UnionPay and Alipay networks in the Chinese mainland will also be enabled to accept QR payments from 22 mainstream Indonesian mobile payment apps. In addition, the financial institutions will continue to focus on meeting the needs, preferences, and demands of clients and users in an ever-evolving market, while prioritising the process of remaining compliant with the regulatory requirements and laws of the industries as well.
More information on the pilot linkage launch
According to the official press release, the cross-border QR payment linkage represents a key project implemented between China and Indonesia in the Government-to-Government (G2G) model, which is steadily progressing under the guidance of both central banks. Back in January 2025, UPI signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Indonesian Payment System Association (ASPI), Ant International, and the Bank of China (Hong Kong) Jakarta Branch. Subsequently, UPI also signed separate cooperation agreements with the four switch networks in Indonesia (including Rintis, ALTO, Artajasa, and Jalin), as well as Ant International and Alipay in order to accelerate project implementation.
In accordance with the agreement between the two central banks, cross-border QR payment linkage between the regions of China and Indonesia is expected to be settled in their respective local currencies. This arrangement will facilitate a cross-border mobile payment experience for residents of both countries in the future, while optimising merchants in broadening their customer base as well. At the same time, the project serves as an important step forward in UnionPay's strategy to develop a new four-party model in collaboration with industry stakeholders, contributing to the process of driving its own development.
At the moment, the sandbox phase is limited to whitelisted participants and merchants, as the cross-border QR payment linkage is set to be fully operational within 2025 once the sandbox phase is completed. In addition, UnionPay aims to continue pursuing cross-border QR payment linkage with payment networks in 19 countries and regions outside the Chinese mainland. Following this initiative, UnionPay will also focus on scaling up cross-border payment connectivity.
