Padang, West Sumatra (ANTARA) - Bank Indonesia (BI) is aiming to have 400,000 new users of Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) in West Sumatra this year.

"We will ask banks to help promote this digital financial transaction, so the set target can be achieved," said Endang Kurnia Saputra, Head of the BI's West Sumatra Representative Office, in Bukittinggi on Thursday.

He said that QRIS offers easy and more convenient ways for people to make payments.

His office urges micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) to use the payment system for their transactions, he said.

Saputra added the central bank is running pilot projects at two high schools in Padang as part of an initiative to introduce QRIS to students.

"We express our utmost gratitude to the regional government, which has consistently supported efforts to inform (people) about digital transactions in this province," he said.

QRIS transactions in West Sumatra reached Rp283 billion (around US$19 million) in January–March 2023, according to Dadang Arif Kusuma, the Chief Deputy of BI's West Sumatra Representative Office.

This figure was a 292.7 percent increase compared to the same period of 2022.

On a national scale, QRIS transactions in January-March 2023 reached Rp40.5 trillion (around US$2.7 billion) or up 242.89 percent year on year (yoy).

As of March 2023, there were 483,733 QRIS users in West Sumatra and 32.5 million users in Indonesia.

Related news: Number of MSMEs using QRIS at 26 million: BI
Related news: BI looks to expand QRIS coverage to more countries


Translator: Mario Sofia N, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Anton Santoso
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