Bank Negara Malaysia Governor Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour launched Phase 2 of the Cambodia-Malaysia cross-border QR payment link on April 8, 2025, in Kuala Lumpur. Malaysians can now scan 4.5 million KHQR touchpoints in Cambodia using DuitNow QR-enabled apps.
Bidirectional Completion
Phase 1 (September 2024) enabled Cambodian visitors to pay at Malaysian merchants. Phase 2 completes the bidirectional link. Cross-border QR payment transactions hit 5.2 million in 2024 - a fourfold increase year-over-year. Over 7 million merchants across both countries are now connected.
Malaysia's Expanding QR Network
Malaysia is leveraging its 2025 ASEAN Chairmanship to push payment connectivity. PayNet and Ant International signed an expanded MoU in August 2025: Malaysians will be able to use DuitNow QR at 100+ million Alipay+ merchants worldwide, while Alipay+ users from 15 international payment partners can pay at 2.6 million DuitNow QR merchants in Malaysia.
What This Means
The 4x growth in cross-border QR volumes validates bilateral QR corridors as a practical alternative to card networks for retail cross-border payments. Malaysia's DuitNow QR is emerging as one of ASEAN's most internationally connected domestic payment standards.
Sources: BNM, BIS Speech