Hanoi (VNA) – The ASEAN Digital Economy Framework Agreement (DEFA) is expected to lay the foundation for a regional digital market, with its success depending on compatible national systems, harmonised regulations and easier cross-border transactions.
At a panel discussion on policy frameworks for the digital economy, held as part of the Autumn Economic Forum 2026 on October 27, speakers said ASEAN needed to ensure national systems could work together while protecting data and facilitating business, rather than impose uniform rules across the region.
Launched in September 2023, the DEFA covers digital trade, cross-border e-commerce, data flows, electronic payments, consumer protection and interoperability, as well as emerging fields such as artificial intelligence (AI) and financial technology.
ASEAN research suggests its comprehensive implementation could help double the region’s digital economy from around 1 trillion USD to 2 trillion USD by 2030. Negotiations concluded in late May, with the agreement expected to be signed at the 49th ASEAN Summit in November.
John Low, senior partner and co-managing partner for Southeast Asia at Roland Berger, said the DEFA reflects a shift in regional integration as growth increasingly depended on data, digital services and advanced technologies.
He stressed that data governance should be treated as strategic economic infrastructure, requiring a balance between facilitating data flows and protecting privacy, commercial confidentiality and cybersecurity. Rather than adopting identical regulations, ASEAN should promote compatible legal frameworks and mutual recognition mechanisms, he said.
Felix Sharief, Vice President of Public Policy and Government Relations at Indonesia’s DANA, said fragmented markets and a lack of common standards continue to hinder interoperability between digital payment systems.
He suggested that ASEAN should prioritise three key foundations: open application programming interfaces (Open APIs), retail payment standards, and fast payment systems. He noted that compatible standards will enable systems to connect without forcing countries to adopt a single platform.
Existing QR payment links between Indonesia and Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore demonstrate the potential for interoperability. Sharief said the DEFA can establish guidelines for API connectivity and payment systems, reducing the time and costs of cross-border transactions. Cooperation can also extend to open finance and electronic know-your-customer services, subject to legal and security requirements.
Ellina Binti Roslan, senior director at MyDIGITAL Corporation, said interoperability does not require countries to adopt identical laws.
She cited the ASEAN Single Window, which enables customs authorities to exchange electronic trade documents, including certificates of origin, based on agreed formats and data acceptance rules while preserving national decision-making powers. Payment links between Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia similarly allow users to make overseas transactions through familiar domestic applications.
She said the DEFA should prioritise areas with clear demand for connectivity, including trade documents, payments, digital identification and data sharing. Data protection safeguards, incident response mechanisms and simpler compliance requirements, particularly for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), were also essential.
Nguyen Van Thuat, Deputy Director of the National Authority of Digital Economy and Society under the Ministry of Science and Technology, proposed connecting digital public infrastructure (DPI) across ASEAN to support the agreement’s implementation.
He said regional countries have developed digital payments, digital identification, electronic signatures and trust services, but these largely served domestic needs, adding that connecting existing infrastructure could help Vietnamese businesses verify partners, sign electronic contracts, receive cross-border payments and exchange digital documents more easily.
Thuan proposed developing common technical standards, promoting cooperation and mutual recognition of digital identification, electronic signatures and trust services where appropriate, and piloting practical applications before expanding them regionwide. The approach will link existing national infrastructure rather than create a single regional digital system. Its implementation will nevertheless require agreement on technical standards, authentication, data protection and incident-handling responsibilities.
For businesses, particularly SMEs, DEFA’s success should be measured by lower transaction costs, faster document processing and improved market access, the speaker said. These outcomes will determine whether regional digital integration delivers tangible economic benefits./.
