Indonesia and China have launched a cross-border QR code payment linkage connecting Indonesia’s Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) with China’s main payment ecosystems, in a move set to reshape inbound tourism spending in Southeast Asia’s largest economy.
The tie-up, developed under the guidance of Bank Indonesia and the People’s Bank of China, links QRIS to Alipay and UnionPay through Alipay+, the unified wallet gateway operated by Ant International, and UnionPay International, according to a statement from Ant International issued in Singapore on May 7.
Chinese travellers using Alipay or the UnionPay App can now scan and pay at more than 40mn QRIS merchants across the Indonesian archipelago, the bulk of which are micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). Indonesian users of QRIS-supported e-wallets and bank apps gain reciprocal access to over 80mn Alipay and UnionPay acceptance points inside China.
The launch lands at a moment of strong recovery in bilateral travel flows. Chinese arrivals to Indonesia reached a six-year high in 2025 at more than 1.34mn visitors, according to figures cited by Ant International, and the new payment rail is expected to channel more of that spending directly to local operators.
For Indonesian merchants, the integration requires no new hardware. Existing QRIS codes are sufficient to accept payments from Chinese travellers, removing what has historically been one of the steeper barriers for smaller vendors seeking a slice of inbound tourism revenue. MSMEs account for more than 99% of all businesses in Indonesia.
The linkage also forms part of Jakarta’s wider push to settle more cross-border transactions in local currencies, a policy the central bank has pursued through bilateral arrangements with regional partners over the past two years. Officials argue the approach improves exchange rate transparency for travellers and reduces friction in trade settlement.
Michael Guo, Alipay+ general manager for Southeast Asia, South Asia and Australia-New Zealand at Ant International, said the launch reflected a broader regional shift. “Interoperability is the foundation of the next generation of cross-border payments,” he said. Through Alipay+, the company connects national QR schemes with global merchants and wallet users, he added.
The Indonesia-China rail extends a pattern of QRIS cross-border deployments that already spans several ASEAN markets, including Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Bank Indonesia has signalled it intends to deepen these links further as part of the regional payment connectivity framework agreed by ASEAN central banks.
Alipay+ currently partners with 50 international e-wallets and bank apps, connecting more than 2bn user accounts to over 150mn merchants and more than 10 national payment schemes across Asia and beyond.
Cross-border QRIS transactions via Alipay grew steadily during the pilot phase ahead of full launch, Ant International said, pointing to rising awareness among both travellers and merchants. The company expects adoption to accelerate as more wallet partners come online.
The development carries particular weight for tourism-dependent destinations such as Bali, Yogyakarta and Lombok, where Chinese visitor numbers have rebounded sharply and where MSME density is high.
Frictionless payment acceptance has been identified by Indonesian tourism officials as a priority infrastructure gap, alongside flight connectivity and digital marketing reach.