Vietnam and China switch on cross-border QR payments

China and Vietnam launched a bilateral QR payment link on December 2, 2025, built by Vietnam's National Payment Corporation (NAPAS), UnionPay International, ICBC, and Vietcombank. For now it runs one direction: Chinese travelers can pay at any merchant displaying VietQR Global by scanning with their own banking or wallet apps. More than 30,000 merchants were expected to be live by the end of 2025. The reverse route (Vietnamese travelers paying in China through NAPAS-member bank apps) is planned for early 2026.

It's the latest link in a wider pattern. Thailand connected with China's Alipay, WeChat Pay, and UnionPay in October 2025. Singapore and Cambodia linked e-wallets in November. Vietnam already has working QR links with Thailand and Cambodia, and since November 2025, Russia's Sberbank and VTB have connected to VietQR/VNPAY, letting Russian travelers scan local QR codes and pay directly from ruble accounts. Piece by piece, most of Asia's QR payment systems are ending up interoperable with each other.