Cross-border QR payments let you pay a shop in another country by scanning its code with your own banking or wallet app. The shop is paid in its local money. Your account is charged in yours. This guide looks at three links that involve Singapore, and most of them are still new. This guide explains how it works and what to check before you scan.
1. What a cross-border QR payment is
Most Asian countries already use QR codes at shops and street stalls. A code holds the shop's payment details. You scan it, check the amount and approve it in your app. At home this is simple, because you and the shop use the same money and the same national system.
Abroad, two national systems have to talk to each other. Central banks and payment networks in the two countries agree on shared rules. Then a code from one country can be read by apps from the other. That agreement is what makes a payment cross-border.
It is not the same as paying with a foreign card. A card goes through a card network. A linked QR payment goes through the two countries' own local payment systems.
2. Where the links stand in March 2023
The picture is mixed. Some links are live, some are in build and some do not exist yet.
Start with Singapore and Thailand. On 29 April 2021, their central banks linked PayNow and PromptPay. This is a money transfer, not a scan at a shop. You send money using only the other person's mobile number. The limit at launch was S$1,000 or 25,000 baht a day.
Singapore and India followed on 21 February 2023. The Monetary Authority of Singapore and the Reserve Bank of India linked PayNow with India's UPI. Again, this is a transfer using a mobile number or a UPI address. It was rolled out in phases. At launch, selected DBS customers could send up to S$200 a transaction and S$500 a day. All DBS customers were due to get access by 31 March 2023, with up to S$1,000 a transaction.
Indonesia and Singapore are still building their link. On 29 August 2022, their central banks began work on a QR link. It will let people scan Indonesian QRIS codes in Singapore, and NETS QR codes in Indonesia. They aim to launch it in the second half of 2023. Until then, it is not available to travellers.
3. How fees and exchange rates work
You pay in your money, and the shop gets theirs. Somebody has to convert it, and the rate is where costs hide. The fee can be a flat charge, a margin added to the rate, or both.
The official notes on the Singapore and Thailand link give a useful model. The banks said that senders would see the foreign exchange charges before they confirm a transfer. They also said they would benchmark their fees against the market. The amount you can send depends on the rate at the time.
Use that as your test for any app. A good one shows the rate, the fee and the final total in your own money before you press confirm. If it does not, treat that as a warning sign.
4. What to check before you scan
A short routine will save you money and stress. Do it before you travel, and again at the counter.
- Ask your bank or wallet provider whether it joined the link for the country you are visiting. Not every bank in a country takes part.
- Check the limits. Early limits are low and can differ by bank and by customer group.
- Look for the total in your own money before you approve. Compare it with the shop's price and today's rate.
- If the app offers to pay in your home money or the local money, compare both totals. Choose the cheaper one.
- Keep a second way to pay. A card or some cash covers you if the network is down.
- Take a screenshot of the receipt screen. It helps if you need to ask your bank about a charge.
These steps are general good practice, not a rule from any one regulator.
5. What this means for travellers and small firms
For travellers, the main gain is choice. Today most visitors still pay with cash or cards abroad. Linked QR systems add a third option that can be fast and cheap when it is available. Right now it is only available on a few routes, and mostly for transfers.
For small shops, the gain is reach. One QR code can serve local customers and foreign visitors. The Indonesia and Singapore announcement says the link should help small businesses with cross-border trade and e-commerce, and support tourism as travel resumes. Shops should wait for the live launch before they promise anything to customers.
Plan for gradual change. More banks, more countries and higher limits are all stated aims of the early links. Check your own provider for the current list before each trip.
Sources
- Monetary Authority of Singapore and Bank of Thailand, Singapore and Thailand Launch World's First Linkage of Real-time Payment Systems, 29 April 2021.
- Monetary Authority of Singapore, Indonesia and Singapore: Cross-border QR Code Payments Connectivity and Use of Local Currencies for Bilateral Transactions, 29 August 2022.
- Monetary Authority of Singapore, Launch of Real-time Payments between Singapore and India, 21 February 2023.