China, Indonesia launch QR payments to bypass U.S. dollar

China and Indonesia launched a shared QR-code payment system that allows Chinese visitors to pay in yuan and Indonesian customers to pay in rupiah at participating merchants in Indonesia without first converting to U.S. dollars. Indonesia’s central bank announced the launch on Thursday. The arrangement links Chinese mobile apps, including Alipay, with Indonesia’s QRIS platform so cross-border payments can be completed in the payer’s home currency.

Participating merchants can display a single QR code that is readable by either country’s payment apps. Transactions settle in the shopper’s currency and do not need to be routed through the dollar at checkout.

The link adds to an expanding Chinese digital-payments network across Southeast Asia. Thailand enabled yuan payments from Chinese apps in late October, Vietnam added UnionPay in December and Alipay more recently, and Malaysia and Singapore already support comparable arrangements. Officials are building a Regional Payment Connectivity system that processed about 12.9 million transactions in the first half of 2025.

In the first two months of 2026, ASEAN countries settled roughly $8.45 billion in cross-border trade using their own currencies, a 163% increase from the same period in 2025. Most of those transactions took place in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines.

Analysts and officials said the arrangement can lower transaction costs and reduce currency exposure for consumers and merchants. Alicia Garcia-Herrero, chief economist for Asia-Pacific at Natixis, described the Indonesia link as a practical measure that lowers fees and shifts some currency risk away from traders.

Chinese customs authorities reported a surge in imports covered by a zero-tariff program, and officials estimate final prices for some goods under that program could fall by 15% to 20%, reducing costs for firms that source from China. International banks point to stronger export demand as a factor supporting China’s economy. Hui Shan, chief China economist at Goldman Sachs, noted Chinese exporters have found more buyers outside the United States, a trend cited in forecasts for higher growth and continued policy support.

Currency markets reflected pressure on the Indonesian rupiah. The dollar traded near Rp17,416.70, up about 0.51% on the day. Analysts noted the pair has been trading above its 20-day, 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and some traders are watching for a potential move past a Rp17,500 resistance level.

Beijing and Jakarta have indicated plans to add more ASEAN partners and other countries to the payment network this year. Regulators and market participants will monitor adoption rates, cross-border settlement volumes and settlement speed as the system scales.