Jakarta. Bank Indonesia recently reported that the national QR code payment system had recorded around Rp 80.9 trillion (approximately $4.9 billion) in transactions throughout January 2025.

QRIS stands for the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard. The system lets its users make payments simply by scanning a QR code as part of the country's push to drive digital transformation in the financial sector. Bank Indonesia also reported that Rp 80.9 trillion was generated from almost 790.8 million transactions. Nearly 36.6 million merchants had used the QRIS system that month.

"QRIS transaction volume had soared by 170.1 percent year-on-year, supported by an increase in its users and merchants," Bank Indonesia's governor Perry Warjiyo said, as reported by the state news agency Antara.

Bank Indonesia is currently developing what it calls the "QRIS Tap", a new technology that is based off near field communication. The QRIS Tap will no longer require its users to scan QRIS barcodes as they will only need to bring their device close to the payment system. The Central Bank has already launched a trial run for the QRIS Tap in the state-owned Damri buses in the Greater Jakarta area. Plans are underway to launch the QRIS Tap by mid-March.

Bank Indonesia is also planning to lower the merchant discount rate (MDR) to 0 percent for public services merchants. The MDR is a fee charged to the businesses that are using the QRIS payments.

"We will lower the QRIS MDR from 0.4 percent to 0 percent for public services merchants. This will come into effect on March 14 along with QRIS Tap's launch," Bank Indonesia's deputy governor Filianingsih Hendarta said.