Korea eyes wider QR payment network across Asia

Uzbekistan talks underway, as Singapore, Thailand come under review

Chae Byung-deuk, president of the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, speaks during a meeting with Korean reporters at a restaurant in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, Sunday. (KFTC)

South Korea's financial clearing agency plans to expand its cross-border QR payment network across Asia as the country modernizes digital payments and brings artificial intelligence deeper into financial services.

"Our goal is to build QR payment services with as many countries as possible," said Chae Byung-deuk, president of the Korea Financial Telecommunications & Clearings Institute, during a meeting with Korean reporters Sunday in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, where he was attending the Asian Development Bank's annual meeting.

The KFTC recently agreed with India and Vietnam to launch QR payment services this year, following President Lee Jae Myung's visits to the two countries last month.

"We will continue expanding our cross-border QR payment service network, focusing on Asian countries that have active exchanges with Korea and where QR payments are widely used," Chae said, adding that Singapore and Thailand are under review, while talks are underway with Uzbekistan.

The service connects national payment switches, allowing users to pay at overseas merchants through everyday apps without separate currency exchange or the double conversion often charged on existing overseas payment services.

KFTC began two-way services with Indonesia in April, with about 500 payments made in each direction over the past month, Chae said.

Chae also cited support for the financial sector's artificial intelligence transformation, or AX, as another priority. KFTC plans to form a sectorwide AX alliance with major financial companies to discuss standards for finance-focused AI technologies and build an industrywide AI ecosystem.

KFTC also plans a proof-of-concept test for an AI agent payment platform, where conversational AI can complete the process from product search to payment in a single seamless session. The agency also aims to use AI to strengthen suspicious transaction detection and anti-money laundering systems.

"Money laundering is typically carried out by breaking transactions into smaller pieces, leaving data scattered across individual financial companies," Chae said. "By bringing that data together at KFTC, AI can be used to detect suspicious transactions and help prevent money laundering."