Juniper Research has reported the amount of QR code payments in Southeast Asia’s main market will climb from 13 billion this year to 90 billion in 2028.  

The high growth in Southeast Asia and other developing economies is partly due to the financial inclusion that QR payments provide, allowing unbanked consumers to access digital payments. Western markets, on the other hand, have seen extremely limited uptake.

According to the research, national QR payment systems including India’s UPI and Brazil’s Pix have played an important role in increasing market adoption, with their success prompting the implementation of national schemes in Kenya and Bangladesh this year. However, the research concluded that major expansion in market volume will come from cross-border interoperability within Southeast Asian economies. 

Vietnam will reportedly collaborate with Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, the Philippines, and Singapore to integrate their payment systems, including the use of the QR (quick response) code system for retail transactions.

In addition, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Thailand have already standardised their payment methods, allowing companies to accept purchases from international visitors using their domestic digital wallets.