Indonesia is signaling that its national digital payment system ‒ Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) ‒ could one day be accepted in the European Union in line with the digital cooperation framework outlined in the Indonesia–European Union Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (IEU-CEPA).
Coordinating Minister for the Economy Airlangga Hartarto said that it is still too early to confirm whether QRIS will be usable across Europe by the time IEU-CEPA is implemented in 2027. For now, Indonesia is focusing on expanding QRIS integration to East Asia next year ‒ particularly Japan and South Korea.
“After that, QRIS is planned to enter the Middle East, such as the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. We will further monitor the progress of QRIS usage abroad before entering the European market,” Airlangga said during the National Leadership Meeting of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jakarta on Monday, December 1, 2025.
Earlier, Indonesian Central Bank (BI) Deputy Governor Filianingsih Hendarta said that by 2026, Indonesians should be able to make QRIS payments for shopping or transactions in China and South Korea. The central bank is also targeting expansion to other countries, including India.
The international push for QRIS comes amid continued strong growth in Indonesia’s digital transaction ecosystem. Bank Indonesia reported that digital economic and financial transactions remained on a positive trajectory in October 2025. It is supported by a safe, smooth, and reliable payment system.
BI Governor Perry Warjiyo cited that digital payment volumes reached 4.45 billion transactions in October 2025 ‒ a year-on-year increase of 31.20 percent.
Mobile and internet banking transactions also recorded growth of 2.91 percent and 12.03 percent year-on-year, respectively. QRIS stood out as the fastest-growing channel, surging 139.45 percent year-on-year. Perry said that this positive performance is supported by increases in both the number of users and merchants.
As QRIS adoption accelerates, Indonesia is positioning itself as a leading driver of seamless cross-border digital payments ‒ with the European market now in its sights once global readiness is achieved.
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