"For example, if there are buyers from Malaysia or Singapore, they can pay directly to the seller's account because everything is done online," he explained when contacted by ANTARA in Jakarta on Friday.
Besides ease of payment with the ASEAN QR Code, e-commerce will also open market access to various ASEAN countries, he said.
The ASEAN QR Code is currently being used in five countries — Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand, Sjahrir added.
Payments using the ASEAN QR Code will be cheaper, safer, and more convenient compared to other payments, he explained.
"Payment directly from your cell phone so there is no need to use a credit card or other types of payment where there are service fees on both sides," he said.
The infrastructure for using the ASEAN QR Code in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand is improving and becoming uniformly distributed, he added.
"Only (the challenge) is about interoperability or operations between systems," Sjahrir said.
He explained that the private sectors of the five countries that have joined the ASEAN QR Code collaboration are currently still exploring ways to maximize the use of cross-border barcodes.
"This is the first step to be able to have more business cooperation, be it big business or MSME business between ASEAN countries," Sjahrir added.
He said that the ASEAN QR Code is targeted to be implemented in all ASEAN countries. However, as the first step, he said he wants to ensure that cross-border payments can be implemented optimally in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
The ASEAN QR Code is a legacy of the ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) under Indonesia's 2023 ASEAN chairmanship.
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Translator: Rina Nur Anggraini, Cindy Frishanti Octavia
Editor: Sri Haryati
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