ASEAN QR Payment: How PromptPay Is Connecting Cross-Border Payments Across the Region

A new era of cross-border transfers — as easy as scanning a QR code to buy lunch

Imagine this: a Malaysian tourist walks into a Hainanese chicken rice shop in Bangkok’s Yaowarat district, pulls out their phone, and scans the same QR code Thai customers use. The money is deducted from their bank account in Malaysia and transferred instantly to the merchant’s account in Thailand. No currency exchange. No high fees.

This is not the future — it is already happening in 2026.

PromptPay — from a domestic system to a regional network

PromptPay began as a domestic money transfer system, but today its growth is remarkable:

More than 90 million registered accounts — more than the number of eligible voters in Thailand
74+ million daily transactions — clear evidence that Thai consumers use it as part of everyday life
88% of Thai consumers prefer merchants that accept instant payments over credit cards

But the real game changer is this: PromptPay is no longer limited to Thailand.

8 countries, 1 QR standard — the largest payment network in Asia

The Bank of Thailand, working with central banks across ASEAN, has built a cross-border QR code payment network connecting 8 systems:

Country	System
Thailand	PromptPay
Singapore	PayNow
Malaysia	DuitNow
Indonesia	QRIS
Cambodia	KHQR
Laos	LaoQR
Vietnam	VietQR
Philippines	QR Ph

This is the world’s largest real-time cross-border payment network, serving a population of more than 700 million people.

Project Nexus — an even bigger leap forward

Beyond bilateral country-to-country connections, the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) is driving Project Nexus, which will connect 5 countries — India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand — through a single hub, with an expected go-live in 2026.

What makes Project Nexus different:

No need for 1:1 integration — connect once to the hub and communicate with every participating country
One shared standard — reducing development and maintenance complexity
Easy scalability — new countries only need to connect to the hub instead of signing agreements with each participant individually

The numbers show just how big this market is

Thailand’s mobile payment market is worth US$34.08 billion in 2026 and is projected to grow at a 14.62% CAGR through 2031
Malaysia recorded 11.8 million cross-border QR transactions worth RM967 million in just the first half of 2025
Mobile banking transaction volume in Thailand increased 10.6% year over year

And most importantly, ASEAN is one of the world’s busiest regions for cross-border travel. Transactions that once required cash exchange are rapidly becoming QR scans instead.

What this means for Thai businesses

For merchants and SMEs

This is a major opportunity for businesses serving tourists:

Accept payments from tourists from 8 countries — using the same QR code already used for Thai customers
No additional investment required — existing PromptPay merchant setups can already support cross-border payments
Lower fees — significantly cheaper than credit cards
Higher sales potential — tourists who do not need to worry about exchanging cash tend to spend more

For cross-border e-commerce

Cross-border QR payments open the door to more accessible regional e-commerce:

ASEAN customers can pay by QR without needing an international credit card
Lower cart abandonment — easier checkout means more completed purchases
New market access — Thai SMEs can more easily sell to ASEAN’s 700 million consumers

For large enterprises

Treasury systems must support collections in multiple currencies through new payment channels
Reconciliation processes need to handle cross-border transactions properly
Compliance requirements must align with AML/CFT regulations for international transactions

What businesses need to prepare

1. Update your POS system

Check whether your current POS system and payment gateway support cross-border QR payments. If they do not, it is worth planning an upgrade now.

2. Prepare for foreign exchange handling

Cross-border transactions involve currency conversion. Businesses need to understand how exchange rates are set and what fees apply.

3. Train frontline staff

Store staff should be able to assist tourists who want to pay via cross-border QR, including basic troubleshooting when transactions fail.

4. Adjust your marketing strategy

Make it visible that your business accepts cross-border QR payments — through signage, stickers, or promotions on travel platforms.

ASEAN is building in a few years what took Europe decades

What is remarkable is that ASEAN is building a real-time cross-border payment system that took Europe decades to develop through SEPA — and this new system is reaching more people, with greater simplicity, and at lower cost.

Businesses that prepare early for the era of borderless payments will have a clear advantage in an increasingly connected ASEAN economy.

Want to prepare your systems for cross-border payments? Talk to the Enersys team to plan a payment infrastructure ready for the borderless ASEAN era.

References

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