Jakarta. Differing digital stages and regulations of each ASEAN country may be some of the roadblocks to the 10-member group’s dream of linking all of its member states' QR code payment systems, according to an expert.

Last year, five ASEAN member states -- Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, and the Philippines -- inked a memorandum of understanding on cross-border payment connectivity. Leaders of ASEAN countries earlier this year agreed to advance regional payment connectivity in an effort to drive the bloc’s economic integration.  

Indonesia today has linked the national QR code payment system —better known as the QRIS— with its Malaysian and Thai counterparts. In other words, Indonesians can pay in Rupiah by scanning QR codes with their mobile phones when traveling to Thailand or Malaysia, thus bypassing the need for US dollars as an intermediary. Likewise, Thai and Malaysian tourists can use their respective currencies when shopping in Indonesia. The QRIS linkage in Singapore is in the works. 

ASEAN aims to establish an interconnection of payments across all member states.

According to Fauziah Zen, a senior economist at think-tank ERIA, regional payment connectivity enables its consumers to save time and transaction costs. It will also pave the way for a more secure payment system. However, there are challenges to a cross-border payment system that ASEAN needs to take note of.

“The 10 ASEAN members have widely differing digital stages. Not just their digital infrastructure, but also the know-how,” Fauziah recently told the Jakarta Globe.

“ASEAN countries have their respective national regulations that might differ in some aspects. They might have different institutional set-ups. ... We might also even find a varied understanding of digital transformation in one country, and now we have to make sure all 10 nations share the same perception,” Fauziah said.

Questions on which ASEAN nation will be at the helm of this regional payment connectivity initiative will also arise, according to Fauziah. She added: “If one country takes the lead, the other might feel they are put at a disadvantage. So this is quite a sensitive issue.”

“So ASEAN should build a common understanding and harmonize the regulations. Afterward, we need to create the same framework and standards. Then we can implement [the payment connectivity] both in the respective ASEAN countries and at the regional level,” Fauziah told the Globe.

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