The Finance Ministry will put cross-border payments and a standard for QR code payment on the agenda at the upcoming Asean Finance Ministers' Meeting (AFMM) held in Thailand.
Creating cross-border payment and adopting a QR code standard across Asean will be proposed by the Finance Ministry at the meeting to allow member countries to push the issues, said an informed source at the Finance Ministry.
Cross-border payments and a standard QR code will be the common systems to be used by all Asean nation members, providing convenience in payments and supporting trade in the region, the source said.
The 23rd AFMM and the fifth Asean Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Meeting, jointly hosted by the Finance Ministry and the Bank of Thailand, will take place April 2-5 in Chiang Rai province.
The central bank earlier this month signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on a pilot project to develop interoperability of a QR code standard with the National Bank of Cambodia to facilitate deeper integration in the region.
The central bank plans to link the country's PromptPay with Singapore's PayNow to let users in both countries send money to each other using mobile phone numbers.
The source said green infrastructure financing and a continuous push in cross-border listings will be two other issues put on the meeting's agenda.
Both the finance ministers' and central bank governors' meetings will centre on financing, payment and service connectivity, as well as trade and investment facilitation to create a seamless Asean; sustainable finance and financial inclusion to step towards a sustainable Asean; and resilience by setting up a cybersecurity framework and digital asset oversight in line with the digital Asean programme.
The meetings' three priorities -- connectivity, sustainability and resilience -- are aimed at deepening the Asean economic integration in all dimensions by developing basic infrastructure, standardising customs and income tax processes to offer more flexibility among Asean members, making sustainable and thorough economic development able to cope with global fluctuations and cyber-attacks, adopting technology to boost economic growth and drafting regulations to govern new financial innovations.