KUALA LUMPUR -- A regional cross-border system for making payments in local currencies is gaining traction among members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, with direct transactions between the Malaysian ringgit and Indonesian rupiah now available.
Malaysians traveling to Indonesia can now pay for retail goods and services by scanning quick response (QR) codes with their mobile phones, and so can Indonesians in Malaysia. Payments are settled using the local currency, bypassing the need for U.S. dollars as an intermediary -- and potentially saving up to 30% in transaction costs.
