India and Indonesia have announced plans to integrate their national payment systems, a move both governments say will simplify transactions for businesses and travellers and deepen economic ties between the two countries.
The announcement came during Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s state visit to Jakarta, where he held a joint press conference with President Prabowo Subianto at the Merdeka Palace on Tuesday.
“One of the greatest strengths of our relationship is people-to-people ties. We are very pleased to announce the plan that India’s digital payment system, UPI, will be integrated with Indonesia’s payment system. This will make transactions easier for businesses and people in both countries,” said Modi.
Once implemented, Indonesia’s Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) will be usable for transactions in India, while India’s Unified Payments Interface (UPI) QR codes will be accepted in Indonesia.
President Prabowo said the linkage is expected to improve transaction efficiency and strengthen the resilience of both countries’ financial sectors.
India and Indonesia: What It Means
“To strengthen cooperation in the financial sector, we welcome the progress of discussions on a QR-based cross-border payment linkage system between Indonesia and India,” said Prabowo.
The payment integration was among the key items on the agenda of the bilateral meeting between the two leaders. The talks also covered accelerating negotiations on the Indonesia–India Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA) and reviewing the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA), alongside cooperation in energy, research, innovation, education, and health.
“Amid the current global situation, we are also encouraging cooperation on energy security, including the development of solar power projects, technology exchange, and capacity building in nuclear technology,” said Prabowo.
The India linkage extends a rapid run of QRIS cross-border expansion. Bank Indonesia launched a QRIS payment link with China in April 2026, rolled out a QR-based system with South Korea the same month, and is progressing a QRIS-JPQR connection with Japan. For India, the deal adds Indonesia to UPI’s growing list of international corridors, reinforcing New Delhi’s ambition to position UPI as a global payments standard.
Related on Digital Trade Outlook
- UPI Goes Live in Cambodia via KHQR
- Bank Indonesia and HKMA Sign MoU to Explore QR Payment Links Between Indonesia and Hong Kong
- LANDBANK Deepens India Ties With Digital Payments Talks Alongside BRICS Summit