KUALA LUMPUR — The first phase of a cross-border QR payment link between Malaysia and Thailand went live June 22, 2021, three months behind the original timeline. Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand had announced the project a year earlier, in June 2020, but the actual launch came only after months of technical groundwork.
The delay was not unusual. Linking two national payment systems is a complex undertaking. Malaysia’s DuitNow, a real-time retail payments platform, had to be connected to Thailand’s PromptPay, its equivalent fast-payment service. Both systems are designed to credit a merchant’s account within seconds. Making them talk to each other required standardizing QR codes, aligning transaction protocols, and testing cross-border settlement flows.
For now, only one direction works. Thai customers can open their mobile payment apps, scan DuitNow QR codes at Malaysian merchants, and pay. That functionality is limited to online cross-border e-commerce transactions — not in-store purchases at physical shops in Malaysia. The second phase, scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2021, will flip the flow. Malaysian shoppers will then use their local apps to scan Thai QR codes and pay merchants inside Thailand. That Thai QR code is a standardized format, the report said, but did not specify which standard.
The project is part of a broader push by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations to integrate its members’ retail payment systems. Malaysia and Thailand are among the bloc’s largest economies. Their central banks have long discussed lowering the cost of cross-border transactions, which remain high compared to domestic payments. Merchants in border towns like Padang Besar, Sungai Kolok, or Betong routinely deal in both ringgit and baht. Currency conversion fees and slow settlement times eat into margins.
A QR payment link cuts those costs. No need for a currency exchange counter. No waiting for a bank transfer to clear. The transaction happens in seconds, and the merchant receives funds in their local currency. The central banks have not disclosed the exact fee reduction or the projected transaction volume from the first phase.
The launch was a milestone, but a modest one. Only Thai customers can use it, and only for online purchases from Malaysian sellers. The real test will come in late 2021, when Malaysian consumers gain the ability to pay Thai merchants directly. That phase will cover a much larger base of users. Malaysia has roughly 40 million mobile phone subscriptions, many linked to DuitNow-enabled banking apps. Thailand’s PromptPay is even more widely adopted, with over 70 million registered users as of early 2021.
Neither central bank announced a third phase. The report mentioned three stages but only described two. The third may involve linking with other ASEAN members or expanding the system to cover in-store payments at physical retail locations. That would require more technical work and bilateral agreements.
The project is not unique. Singapore and Thailand launched a similar QR link in April 2021. Indonesia and Thailand have been testing one since 2020. The ASEAN Payment Connectivity initiative, endorsed by the bloc’s finance ministers in 2019, sets a goal of linking all member states’ retail payment systems by 2025. Malaysia and Thailand are ahead of most peers, but the road to full integration remains long.
For now, a Thai tourist in Kuala Lumpur cannot use their bank app to pay at a local noodle stall. A Malaysian trader in Bangkok cannot scan a Thai QR code at a wholesale market. Those scenarios will have to wait until the second phase goes live, and then for merchants on both sides to adopt the system. Adoption is not automatic. Small traders need to display the correct QR code, register with a participating bank, and trust the technology.
The central banks have not released adoption figures. They have not named any participating banks or mobile apps. The launch was a technical announcement, not a consumer campaign. That will come later, if the second phase succeeds.
