Can a traveler pay a foreign QR code with a home-country app?
In some corridors. National schemes are linking to each other one pair at a time: Indonesia with Thailand and Malaysia, and India's UPI with LankaQR in Sri Lanka. Each linkage handles currency conversion, settlement between two national systems and AML and KYC checks in both jurisdictions. Acceptance still depends on where the merchant is and where the app comes from.
In detail
In some corridors. National schemes are linking to each other one pair at a time: Indonesia with Thailand and Malaysia, and India's UPI with LankaQR in Sri Lanka. Each linkage handles currency conversion, settlement between two national systems and AML and KYC checks in both jurisdictions. Acceptance still depends on where the merchant is and where the app comes from.
Linkages, one pair at a time
National QR schemes were built for domestic use, with settlement in local currency through local banks. Cross-border use requires two schemes to connect: Indonesia's QRIS with Thailand's PromptPay and Malaysia's DuitNow, India's UPI with LankaQR in Sri Lanka, Singapore's PayNow with several partners. Each linkage is negotiated and built separately.
What a linkage handles
- Currency conversion, with a rate shown to the customer before confirmation.
- Settlement between two national systems, usually through designated banks.
- AML and KYC checks in both jurisdictions.
- Fee sharing between the schemes and participants.
What it means for acceptance
A merchant's QR code can be paid by a foreign app only if the merchant's scheme is linked to the app's scheme. A Thai merchant can take an Indonesian QRIS payment; a Thai merchant cannot yet take every Asian app. Operators serving merchants in tourist markets should know which linkages are live and which providers support them, and present the accepted foreign apps at the point of sale. Reconciliation must handle the conversion and the foreign scheme's settlement timing.