Thailand and Hong Kong start cross-border QR payment linkage

Hong Kong residents can now make payments in Thailand using their digital wallets through a cross-border QR payment linkage between Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS) and Thailand’s PromptPay.

Key Takeaways

• Hong Kong and Thailand have established a cross-border QR payment linkage, allowing residents of Hong Kong to make payments in Thailand and Thai tourists to pay in Hong Kong using their digital wallets.
• The daily transaction limit for this cross-border QR payment program is set at HK$10,000, with plans to explore similar linkages with other countries in the future.
• Hong Kong merchants can join the program without incurring any fees, while Hong Kong users will have to pay foreign exchange costs and handling fees when using the service.

The daily transaction limit is set at HK$10,000 ($1,280), and seven banks and two stored value facility operators in Hong Kong are participating in the program. Thai tourists visiting Hong Kong can also make payments by scanning their digital wallets with FPS.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority plans to explore similar cross-border QR payment linkages with Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. Merchants in Hong Kong will not incur any fees, but users will have to pay foreign exchange costs and handling fees. The Hong Kong FPS has 13 million registered users and sees an average of 1.3 million transactions per day.