ASEAN can set good example for cross-border transactions: Bank Indonesia

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Governor of Bank Indonesia (BI) Perry Warjiyo has said that five ASEAN countries could set a good example for the world in implementing cross-border payments through the Quick Response (QR) Code and fast payment system.
At the 16th International Bulletin of Monetary Economics and Banking (BMEB) Conference here on Thursday, he said that the five ASEAN countries have, in fact, carried out their efforts earlier than G20 members.
Currently, Indonesia has a cross-border payment agreement with Thailand and Malaysia. Meanwhile, a cooperation agreement with Singapore and the Philippines is still under process.
Hence, Indonesia’s payments system is not only nationally interconnected, but also internationally connected, the Governor of BI noted.
The central bank has been building the infrastructure for the payments system since 2019, namely the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) and the Bank Indonesia Fast Payment (BI-FAST).
QRIS was launched as an online payment identification for traders, while BI-FAST was used to facilitate national retail payment activities.
Furthermore, Warjiyo informed that BI has also established a multi-matching electronic trading platform (ETP), which is an electronic system used to conduct financial market transactions using the multi-matching method.
The central bank has also continued to develop the infrastructure for the central counterparty (CCP), which is an institution that acts both as a seller and buyer for parties conducting derivatives transactions.
“With these various infrastructures, not only QR and fast payment, we also expect that digital rupiah (Indonesia’s future central bank digital currency) will not only be able to be used in Indonesia, but also for cross-border transactions,” he remarked.
Hence, currently, BI is collaborating with other central banks and holding discussions on the best digital platform for the implementation of the digital rupiah, he added.