The Bank of Thailand, in collabora-tion with the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV), has launched a QR payment linkage to simplify cross-border payments between the two countries.
The cross-border payment facility was launched yesterday, following a financial project that began in 2019 as part of the Asean Payment Connectivity, a joint regional effort.
The QR code cross-border payment facility aims to foster financial integration and sustainable growth in the region spanning bilateral trade, tourism and the use of local currencies.
Nguyen Kim Anh, deputy governor of the SBV, said the service makes cross-border payments easier for both Vietnamese and Thais, particularly in the area of tourism once cross-border travel returns to normal.
In 2019, around 1.5 million tourists flowed between the two countries. Using this service, tourists from Thailand can make QR payments using their mobile phones for goods and services in Vietnam, and vice versa.
The new service should eventually help stimulate the economies of the countries and the region as a whole, he said.
Ronadol Numnonda, deputy governor of Thailand's central bank, said the payment facility would provide more security and strengthen the digitalised societies of both countries.
For the initial stage of the service, Thai tourists using Bangkok Bank's mobile banking app can scan the QR code for cross-border payment for goods and services at Vietnamese clients of Tien Phong Commercial Joint Stock Bank, the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam, and Saigon Thuong Tin Commercial Joint Stock Bank, said Mr Ronadol.
Conversely, Vietnamese tourists using the mobile apps of those three banks can scan the Thai QR codes for Bangkok Bank merchants in Thailand.
Under the collaboration, several business partners joined the project, including the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam and National ITMX as switching operators, along with the Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade and Bangkok Bank as the settlement banks responsible for cross-border settlements under the service.
Several other banks may participate in the project in the future, including the Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Foreign Trade of Viet Nam and Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya, CIMB Thai Bank, Kasikornbank, Krungthai Bank and Siam Commercial Bank.