President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc and Thai Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith at the launch. Photo courtesy of NAPAS

BANGKOK — The Interoperable QR Code for retail payment linkage between Việt Nam and Thailand was officially launched on the occasion of President Nguyễn Xuân Phúc attending the Việt Nam-Thailand High-Level Business Meeting on Thursday as part of his trip to Thailand.

Under the direction of the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) and the Bank of Thailand (BOT), Việt Nam’s National Payment Corporation of Việt Nam (NAPAS) and the Thailand’s National ITMX (NITMX) completed this linkage in March 2021. The scheme aims at facilitating bilateral trade, investment, tourism as well as the use of local currencies between the two countries.

Speaking at the event, President Phúc said that Thailand had become an important and reliable partner of Việt Nam for nearly half a century of cooperation and development. At the same time, he expressed his pleasure to witness the announcement ceremony of the Interoperable QR Code between Việt Nam and Thailand - one of the strategic co-operation activities between the two countries.

He said the linkage was proof of the transformation of the digital economy, an effective co-operation between management agencies, businesses and the banking system between the two countries, contributing to promoting trade and tourism and especially encouraging the use of each country's local currency.

On the stage of the ceremony, President Phúc and Thai Finance Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith, Vietnamese SBV’s Deputy Governor N­­­­guyễn Kim Anh and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Thailand Ronadol Numnonda experienced payment by scanning VietQR and ThaiQR codes in purchasing goods and services.

The leaders of the two countries’ central banks officially introduced to the participants a payment method that is not only convenient, fast and easy for people, but also brings many practical benefits through the direct exchange between Thai Baht (THB) and Vietnamese đồng (VND), instead of using a third foreign currency.

The co-operation between NAPAS and NITMX in deploying QR code scanning payment services aims to realise the commitments in the field of financial innovation signed by the central banks of the two countries in 2019.

In the first stage of implementing the payment project between the two countries, Thai tourists can scan VietQR codes to pay for goods and services at payment acceptance units of TPBank and BIDV. Vietnamese tourists who are TPBank and Sacombank customers can scan ThaiQR codes at nearly 8 million payment points in Thailand.

In the future, NAPAS will continue to cooperate with NITMX to expand member banks to meet the needs of tourists from the two countries after the pandemic. — VNS