The Fintech Power 50 Annual 2025

Democratising commerce: The principles behind Asia’s QR payment revolution

Why do QR payments matter, shouldn’t we all be talking about AI? Well, in just a few years, Asia solved the problem of how to make digital payments truly accessible to everyone, everywhere – from buzzing streets in Bangkok, Jakarta and Kuala Lumpur to the most remote places of rural Asia. The principles behind this transformation is something we can learn from as we start the next wave of commerce innovation with agentic AI. Yet to understand the principles, we must understand the QR evolution first. QR payments started with FIs rolling out proprietary QR codes. With fierce competition, that meant that when users went to the counter to pay, they had multiple QR codes to choose from. It also meant each of the FIs had large business development efforts to enroll merchants, and the merchants themselves had duplication of work. Seeing the successful adoption of QR payments, governments across Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia and beyond rolled out interoperable QR codes for individuals and merchants. This meant now everyone could accept payments real time – democratising acceptance. What made it even better was cross-border interoperability. A Malaysian user can go to Thailand without the need to go to the ATM to withdraw cash, and instead use their Malaysian banking app to scan Thailand’s Promptpay QR; that's seamless regional integration in action! QR codes worked because they make payments seamless. No need for special terminals, nor complicated software; easy to

use for everyone. Merchants can simply print a QR code, stick it on the counter, and they’re good to go. The ease has driven street food and informal commerce vendors to print their personal QR, digitising what otherwise would have been a cash transaction, and driving mass adoption. What we saw across Southeast Asia is not just QR payments adoption; but a set of principles that transformed the region. 1 Governments as infrastructure builders. Asian governments actively built the rails; Promptpay in Thailand; PayNet in Malaysia; QRIS in Indonesia. This Bank – FIs’ coordinated approach eliminated fragmentation. Instead, unified national standards emerged through central bank leadership resulting in seamless experiences that worked across providers and countries – creating network effects that benefit everyone. 2 Design for the last mile first. Given the nature of the region, governments prioritised designing for street vendors, rural areas, and micro-businesses. Cashless was at the top of the governments’ agenda and they understood that solving for the most constrained users would create infrastructure that could work universally. 3 Interoperability as default. The ‘secret to success’ was making interoperability mandatory from day one. This not only benefited each of the individual countries, but cross-border trade. Today the protocol connects ASEAN countries through the Regional Payment Connectivity initiative; facilitating commerce across the region.

As we enter the era of agentic commerce, where AI agents will conduct transactions on our behalf, these principles become essential. AI agents will face the same challenges we faced as humans: the need for universal protocols, seamless integration, and inclusive design. Agentic commerce must embrace interoperability, simplicity and inclusion by design, ensuring accessibility for micro-businesses, not just technology and retail giants. Most importantly, we must design for everyone, whether it’s a user in London or rural Nepal. Remember, behind each protocol there is someone trying to make a purchase with ease while having peace of mind that their money and identity are in safe hands. The principles that democratised payments in Asia can guide us in building inclusive, secure agentic commerce that works for all.

Monica Millares built digital banking products in fintech startups serving millions across Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the UK. Recognised as Singapore’s #Fintech65 Product Leader and host of the Purpose Driven FinTech

Podcast, she thrives in making fintech more human and scaling startups with impact. LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/monicamillares YouTube: @monica_millares