Central Banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand seal cooperation in regional payment connectivity

29 November 2022

On 14 November 2022, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (“MAS”) announced that it, together with Bank Indonesia, Bank Negara Malaysia, Bangko Sentral ng Philippines, and the Bank of Thailand, has agreed to strengthen and enhance payment connectivity cooperation. Such connectivity will support faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive cross-border payments. A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Regional Payment Connectivity (“MOU”) was signed on the same day on the sidelines of the G20 Leaders’ Summit.

Regional payment connectivity is expected to be a significant contributor to accelerating regional economic recovery and promoting inclusive growth.
Cross-border payment connectivity supports and facilitates cross-border trade, investment, financial deepening, remittance, tourism, and other economic activities, as well as a creating a more inclusive financial ecosystem in the region. This will facilitate the participation of micro, small, and medium enterprises in international markets. The cooperation will include a number of modalities, including QR code and fast payment.

This initiative is in line with Indonesia’s G20 Presidency priority agenda in the area of digital transformation and could be expanded to include other countries in the region and partner countries outside the region. This milestone also marks the start of Indonesia’s chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”) in 2023 and in this regard, supports ASEAN’s shared aspiration for connected payment systems to enable fast, seamless and more affordable cross-border payments across the region.

Reference materials

The MAS press release on this development is available on its website www.mas.gov.sg by clicking here.