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On 23 April 2026, the National Payment Corporation of Vietnam (NAPAS), in cooperation with GLN International and settlement banks BIDV and Hana Bank, announced the launch of cross-border QR payments between Vietnam and Korea. The initiative is designed to link retail payment infrastructure across the two countries, supporting a smoother payment experience for inbound tourists and facilitating bilateral trade.
The service was implemented under a cooperation agreement signed at the Vietnam–Korea Economic Forum in August 2025. Within less than a year, the parties completed system integration and settlement infrastructure and officially put the service into operation.
According to NAPAS General Director Nguyen Quang Minh, the Vietnam–Korea cross-border QR payment service is a step toward deeper financial integration and is expected to support growth in tourism and trade as bilateral cooperation expands.
The service processes transactions in real time, aiming to provide speed and safety comparable to domestic payments in Korea. It also enables direct settlement between the Korean Won (KRW) and the Vietnamese Dong (VND) through Hana Bank and BIDV’s settlement infrastructure.
Under the operating mechanism, the service allows more than 115 million users—including Korean tourists and the Korean community in Vietnam—to use e-wallets and banking apps within the GLN International network to scan VIETQRGlobal at hundreds of thousands of acceptance points nationwide.
In remarks reported by VnEconomy, BIDV Deputy General Director Phan Thanh Hai said that, with regulator support and cross-party cooperation, the system has been standardized technically and is ready for stable operation.
He highlighted that the solution is expected to bring convenience for people in both countries, particularly for tourism. Travelers can pay directly using funds in their accounts without needing to exchange currencies or manage intermediary steps. He said Koreans visiting Vietnam do not need to convert to USD or VND, and Vietnamese travelers to Korea can also pay easily.
BIDV’s representative also noted that the service is intended to provide a technology infrastructure that is modern, safe, and seamless for Korean visitors in Vietnam, while creating opportunities for Vietnamese businesses and households to enhance competitiveness and support Korean tourist spending.
Deployment is planned in both directions: inbound (Korean visitors to Vietnam) and outbound (Vietnamese visitors to Korea). The initial phase will prioritize inbound payments to serve Korean tourists in Vietnam. In the near future, the system will be expanded to support outbound payments, enabling Vietnamese customers to pay by QR in Korea.
All transactions are conducted directly through the banking system and are automatically debited from the user’s account, meaning customers do not need to exchange currencies or complete intermediary procedures when paying.
Vietnam’s Ambassador to Korea, Lee Chang Kun, said that in 2025 Korea recorded about 4.3 million arrivals to Vietnam. While there is no official data for the first four months of 2026, he noted that the full-year figure could exceed 5 million.
He said QR payments are expected to boost tourism and create spillovers into trade, the economy, and services, aligning with Vietnam’s smart tourism development strategy by improving efficiency and the tourist experience. As Korea remains among Vietnam’s largest international tourist markets, cross-border QR payments are expected to help remove currency and exchange-rate barriers and reduce reliance on cash among travelers.
Beyond consumer benefits, the solution is expected to open opportunities for domestic enterprises and small traders in Vietnam to access larger flows of Korean customers, streamline payment processes, increase revenue, and consolidate cross-border payments into domestic payments under a single QR code.
GLN International General Director Lee Suk emphasized that the changes will further promote stronger economic and cultural exchange between Vietnam and Korea. He also said they create opportunities to expand QR payment usage for Vietnamese customers in other Asian countries via Hana Bank and GLN’s network.
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