Jakarta. The central bank recently announced that Indonesians would be able to use the national QR-based payment system QRIS when shopping in South Korea starting next month.

QRIS — which stands for the Quick Response Code Indonesia Standard — allows people to make payments simply by scanning QR codes using their smartphone camera. This payment method has skyrocketed in popularity as even Indonesia’s street vendors now embrace the technology. Bank Indonesia has also signed a series of agreements with its foreign counterparts to make QRIS available overseas, including South Korea. The system is set to go live in a few weeks time.

“We will launch the cross-border QRIS payment between Indonesia and South Korea in April 2026,” Bank Indonesia governor Perry Warjiyo told a briefing earlier this week. 

“This is part of our efforts to expand cross-border digital payment connectivity. It also seeks to speed up digital acceptance.”

The launch followed a memorandum of understanding signed between Bank Indonesia and the Bank of Korea back in 2024. Such linkage is expected to provide a boon for tourism as travelers will no longer have to exchange currencies. As Indonesia morphs into a major fanbase for Korean pop culture, the number of people from Southeast Asia’s biggest economy visiting Seoul is also on a rapid rise. Many are even running casual courier services or jasa titip (jastip) to get K-pop merchandise and skincare products.

In 2025, 365,596 Indonesians visited South Korea, marking a record high, according to the Korea Tourism Organization.

The QRIS launch is only adding to Korea's list of magnets for Indonesian tourists. South Korea not long ago announced it would grant Indonesia visa-free entry on a trial basis for groups of three or more tourists.

At home, QRIS is also on a triple-digit increase. Bank Indonesia reported that QRIS-based payment transactions had jumped 133.2% year-on-year in February.

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