Hanoi (VNA) – Cambodia’s newswire sbm.news reported on August 25 that the State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cooperation in regional payment connectivity with the central banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
This agreement is part of an initiative aimed at establishing a cross-border payment mechanism among countries in the region.
The article highlighted Vietnam's collaboration with the five above ASEAN countries, including the use of QR code scanning system for retail activities.
Indonesia has already connected its QR code payment system with Thailand and Malaysia, and plans to establish a connection with Singapore by the end of this year, it said.
Speaking at a press conference, Governor of the Bank Indonesia Perry Warjiyo said this collaboration not only creates favourable conditions for trade and investment but also enhances the ASEAN countries' resilience against currency exchange rate fluctuations.
According to the newswire, with a population of over 600 million people, ASEAN has faced several years of challenges in its efforts towards trade integration worth 2.3 trillion USD.
In mid-June, senior officials from the National Bank of Cambodia announced that the country will soon sign agreements with the State Bank of Vietnam and the Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL) and other nations in the region, toward using local currency in its economy through technological advancements, thereby creating convenience for its citizens./.