Standards/laoqr
LaoQR
Overview
LaoQR is Laos' national QR-code payment standard, promoted by LAPNet (Lao Payment Network) under guidance from the Bank of the Lao PDR (BoL) 1, 2, Lao People's Democratic Republic report. LaoQR was initiated late 2022 as part of broader Lao payment-modernisation, with the BoL coordinating implementation across Lao commercial banks. Currently 14 Lao banks participate in the LAPNet/LaoQR network — including major players BCEL (Banque pour le Commerce Extérieur Lao, state-owned), ACLEDA Bank Lao, Kbank Lao (Kasikorn), BIC, APB, LVB, Indochina, JDB, and others.
LaoQR's structural distinction: cross-border integration with KHQR (Cambodia) since August 2023 — a Lao-Cambodia cross-border QR payment system signed via MoU between the two central banks in 2022. Phase 2 of cross-border QR launched December 2025, enabling both-sides scanning (previously one-directional) 3. Beyond Cambodia, LaoQR has expanded to cross-border with Vietnam — Vietnamese mobile-banking apps from VietinBank, Sacombank, BIDV, Vietcombank, BVBank, Nam A Bank, TPBank can scan LaoQR codes at LAPNet's 14-bank merchant network. UnionPay International is also accelerating QR-code-payment-network interconnection across Southeast Asia, with LaoQR as a participating standard. Together with PromptPay QR, DuitNow QR, KHQR, Bhutan QR, LaoQR exemplifies the mainland-Southeast-Asia + South-Asia cross-border-QR mesh that has emerged since 2021.
History
Background — Lao payment landscape Lao People's Democratic Republic report:
- Bank of the Lao PDR (BoL) — central bank.
- LAPNet (Lao Payment Network) — interbank payment infrastructure.
- Cash-dominant economy; growing mobile-banking penetration.
2022 — BoL-NBC MoU for cross-border payments 2:
- BoL + NBC (National Bank of Cambodia) sign MoU in Phnom Penh.
- Cooperation in financial innovation + digital payment systems.
Late 2022 — LaoQR national standard promoted 1:
- LAPNet initiates national QR-code standard under BoL guidance.
August 2023 — Phase 1 KHQR-LaoQR cross-border launches 2:
- Lao-Cambodia cross-border QR payment system live.
- 8 Lao commercial banks participating initially: BCEL, ACLEDA Bank Lao, Kbank Lao, BIC, APB, LVB, Indochina, JDB.
- Users pay in local currencies (Lao kip and Khmer riel) via QR.
Vietnam-Laos cross-border QR connectivity [vietnam-plus]:
- Vietnamese banks (VietinBank, Sacombank, BIDV, Vietcombank, BVBank, Nam A Bank, TPBank) can scan LaoQR.
- Reciprocal Vietnam-side acceptance.
14 Lao banks Lao People's Democratic Republic report:
- LAPNet network expands to 14 commercial banks.
December 2025 — Phase 2 cross-border launches 3:
- Both-sides scanning enabled (previously one-directional only).
- Full bidirectional QR interoperability between Laos + Cambodia.
Technical specification
LaoQR is a BoL-coordinated LAPNet-operated national QR standard with regional cross-border integration 1, 2:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Operator | LAPNet (Lao Payment Network) |
| Regulator | Bank of the Lao PDR (BoL) |
| Currency | LAK (Lao kip) |
| Participating banks | 14 Lao commercial banks |
| Cross-border partners | Cambodia (KHQR), Vietnam (multiple bank apps) |
| Phase 1 KHQR-LaoQR | August 2023 |
| Phase 2 (bidirectional) | December 2025 |
| Regional integration | UnionPay International SEA QR-network interconnection participant |
Cross-border architecture 2:
- LaoQR + KHQR + reciprocal Vietnamese-bank participation.
- Local-currency settlement (LAK ↔ KHR ↔ VND).
Use cases
Domestic merchant payments 1: 14-bank merchant-acceptance network within Laos.
Cross-border tourist payments from Cambodia 2: Cambodian visitors with KHQR-enabled wallets pay at Lao merchants.
Cross-border tourist payments from Vietnam [vietnam-plus]: Vietnamese tourists with participating-bank-app QR scanning at Lao merchants.
Lao tourists in Cambodia/Vietnam 3: Reciprocal acceptance (since Dec 2025 Phase 2 bidirectional).
P2P transfers Lao People's Democratic Republic report: Via LAPNet rails.
Implementations & ecosystem
Operator: LAPNet (Lao Payment Network).
Regulator: Bank of the Lao PDR (BoL).
14 Lao banks: BCEL (state, largest), ACLEDA Bank Lao, Kbank Lao (Kasikorn Thailand), BIC, APB, LVB, Indochina, JDB, plus others.
Cross-border partners:
- NBC + ACLEDA + Cambodian banks (KHQR/KHQR).
- Vietnamese banks: VietinBank, Sacombank, BIDV, Vietcombank, BVBank, Nam A Bank, TPBank.
UnionPay International: SEA-wide QR-network interconnection participant.
Fun facts
- 2022 BoL-NBC MoU was the foundation for KHQR-LaoQR cross-border: A diplomatic-banking partnership that produced a real cross-border QR rail within a year (Aug 2023).
- Lao kip ↔ Khmer riel local-currency settlement: Both small emerging-market currencies; eliminates USD intermediation friction for Lao-Cambodia trade and tourism.
- Phase 2 bidirectional (Dec 2025): Initial KHQR-LaoQR was one-directional; Phase 2 made it bidirectional. Illustrates the iterative deployment pattern for cross-border QR.
- 14 Lao banks: Substantial coverage of Lao commercial banking.
- Vietnamese-bank-app interop: Tourist-payment value — Vietnamese visitors are major source of Lao tourism.
- Joins the SEA cross-border QR mesh: With PromptPay QR TH, DuitNow QR MY, SGQR/PayNow SG, KHQR KH, LaoQR, TWQR TW — SEA has effectively built a multilateral cross-border QR mesh.
- UnionPay International role: Chinese card-network UnionPay actively expanding SEA QR-network interconnection — making LaoQR more accessible to Chinese tourists' UnionPay-affiliated wallets.
Comparison
| Feature | LaoQR | KHQR KH | PromptPay QR TH | DuitNow QR MY | Bhutan QR BT |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | LAPNet (BoL-coordinated) | NBC/ACLEDA | NITMX/ITMX | PayNet | RMA |
| Launch | Late 2022 | 2020 (atop Bakong) | 2017 | 2017/2019 | 2020 |
| Cross-border partners | KH (Aug 2023), VN | 6 countries | SG/MY/JP/VN/ID | SG/TH | India BHIM-UPI |
| Phase 2 bidirectional | Dec 2025 | n/a | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Population | Laos (~7.5M) | Cambodia (17M) | Thailand (70M) | Malaysia (33M) | Bhutan (770K) |
Status
Active, regionally-integrated 1, 3:
- LAPNet + BoL operators.
- 14 Lao banks.
- KHQR-LaoQR cross-border (Aug 2023 Phase 1, Dec 2025 Phase 2 bidirectional).
- Vietnamese-bank cross-border participation.
- UnionPay International SEA network participant.
Sources
- 1 Bank of the Lao PDR
- 2 KHQR-LaoQR cross-border — Khmer Times
- 3 Phase 2 cross-border QR — Laotian Times
- vietnam-plus Vietnam-Laos cross-border
- Lao People's Democratic Republic report
reports/countries/LA-laos.md
Deployments
Found in the following country reports (grep across reports/countries/):
- KH — KH-cambodia.md
- LA — LA-laos.md
- TH — TH-thailand.md