Bank Indonesia Bans QRIS for Online Gambling Payment

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Recently, there have been reports of online gambling payments using the Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS). The Executive Director of Bank Indonesia's Communication Department Erwin Haryono responded to the news. 

"In general, gambling is an unlawful conduct, Thus, QRIS or any other payment tools are not allowed to facilitate [gambling]," Erwin said to Tempo on Tuesday, September 26, 2023.

"In relation to [online gambling], utilization of QRIS for online or offline gambling activities is not in line with [integrity] principle and thus must be halted by each relevant payment service provider (PJP)," he added.

According to Erwin, PJP shall implement the Know Your Merchant system while acquiring merchants. If found that the payment channel is used for unlawful purposes, PJP is obliged to halt its service to said merchant. "Therefore, Bank Indonesia obliges all PJP to stop its partnership with merchants involved in online gambling or other related activities," Erwin stated.

Additionally, Bank Indonesia has instructed PT. PTEN as QRIS' National Merchant Repository organizer to freeze the related merchant's identity number. Bank Indonesia also conducted onsite supervision against merchants and PJP suspected of aiding online gambling. 

Furthermore, Bank Indonesia also cooperated with law enforcers including the Financial Services Authority (OJK), Indonesian Financial Transaction Reports and Analysis Center (PPATK), and other agencies to freeze bank accounts and websites affiliated with online gambling and other related activities.