Acleda Bank Plc plans to expand the KHQR system to non-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries, said a senior bank official.
The official said that the plan will actually be implemented after the cross-border payment connectivity is made between Cambodia and Thailand, Vietnam and Laos. The cross-payments between Cambodia and these countries have been made without charging fees, except for the Cambodia-Laos transactions.
Mar Amara, Senior Executive Vice President & Group Chief Financial Officer of Acleda Bank, told Khmer Times last Sunday that the sponsoring bank Acleda Bank plans to develop cross-border payment transactions using the KHQR code between Cambodia and India, Japan and South Korea.
“After these three corridors, we plan to connect with [these countries],” said Amara, adding that only Acleda App can be used to scan in Laos and Vietnam with KHQR, while Bakong App, Acleda App and CPB App can currently be used to scan in Thailand. “In the near future, all Bakong members’ apps would be able to scan in Thailand too,” Amara said.
However, he said that indirect connection can also be done by joining Acleda Bank if any other members of the Bakong system want cross-border payments to be made through their mobile banking service apps free of charge for Cambodia-Thailand and Cambodia-Vietnam payment transactions, but a charge of about 100 riel or 500 LAK—national currency of Laos—per transaction for Cambodia-Laos transactions.
Acleda Bank launched cross-border payment via QR code in Laos, phase 1—Cambodia scans Laos QR code to promote the wide use of riel for settlement in the ASEAN region and financial inclusion in line with the integration with the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).
In Channy, President & Group Managing Director of Acleda Bank Plc, said the bank and its overseas subsidiary commercial bank Acleda Bank Lao Ltd are selected to be the settlement banks for cross-border payment between Cambodia and Laos for accepting payment local currency in each other—riel and LAK.
“The cross-border payment via the code allows customers and the public to purchase goods and conduct payments in their own currency when travelling to neighbouring countries by scanning QR codes more easily and securely. The digital payment will make payments more convenient for tourists and firms, while also strengthening the local currency,” said Channy.
Source: Khmertimeskh
