Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) has announced that Malaysia and Cambodia have established cross-border interoperability for QR payments. Similar to the country’s existing linkages with China, Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and South Korea, travelers from the two countries will be able to make cashless transactions seamlessly.
The cross-border initiative is being rolled out in two phases, with the first phase already completed. Under the first phase, Cambodians can make QR code payments in Malaysia by scanning DuitNow QR codes using their local mobile payment apps such as Bakong or Maybank M2U KH.
For the next phase, the country will roll out a reciprocation by allowing Malaysian travelers in Cambodia to make cashless purchases by scanning KhmerQR (KHQR) QR codes, which is their equivalent of DuitNow. Unfortunately, there is no rollout date that has been set yet for this phase.
BNM says that the initiative will enable over five million merchants in both countries to access a wider customer base. Back in 2022, Malaysia was part of five ASEAN countries that announced a collaboration to develop linkages for QR payments in the region. So far, we have established cross-border connectivity will all the countries from the announcement except for the Philippines.
(Source: BNM Press Release)
