# Unified Cross-Border QR

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/unified-cross-border-qr
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-07
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [China's unified QR cross-border payments — Caixin](https://www.caixinglobal.com/2025-11-24/in-depth-how-chinas-unified-qr-code-system-is-redefining-cross-border-payments-102386196.html)

## Overview

**Unified Cross-Border QR** is **China's national cross-border QR-payment gateway**, co-developed by **China UnionPay Co. Ltd.** + **Payment and Clearing Association of China (PCAC)** <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [China report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CN)</sup>. The gateway **integrates foreign wallets with domestic payment networks** making QR-code payments more accessible for foreign visitors. **Alipay + Ant International + Tencent Holdings** (via cross-border payment platform **Tenpay Global**) are participating in the pilot program. Trials began **July 2024** + processed **nearly 2 million transactions worth 427 million yuan ($60 million) as of September 11, 2024**.

The structural significance: The gateway **moves cross-border payments toward global "four-party model"** where **a central clearing network processes + records payments**, enabling the **State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) to monitor + oversee transactions more effectively** — substantial regulatory + transparency improvement over previous fragmented cross-border-QR-payment landscape. **Geographic coverage** for inbound foreign visitors using their home-region wallets in mainland China: **Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macao**, with continuing expansion. **Tenpay Global (WeChat Pay's international arm)** integration **handles live cross-border traffic from overseas wallets** — critical for major foreign visitor markets to China.

**Cross-border QR launches accompanying the gateway 2025**:
- **September 2025** — Indonesia QRIS pilot.
- **October 30, 2025** — Thailand PromptPay launch.
- **December 2025** — Vietnam launch (Chinese tourists use VIETQRGlobal in Vietnam, Vietnamese users at UnionPay merchants in China early 2026).

**UnionPay 2025 — 11 cross-border payment deals in global push** [[chinaglobalsouth]]: Substantial international expansion.

## History

**Background — China cross-border QR-payment context** <sup>[China report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CN)</sup>:
- **State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)** — Chinese FX regulator.
- **China UnionPay** — national card network.
- **Payment and Clearing Association of China (PCAC)** — industry body.
- **Alipay (Ant Group)** + **WeChat Pay (Tencent)** + **UnionPay** — major Chinese payment networks.
- **Tenpay Global** — Tencent's cross-border payment platform.

**July 2024 — Unified Cross-Border QR gateway trials** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- China UnionPay + PCAC co-developed.

**Tenpay Global integration** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:
- WeChat Pay international arm.

**September 11, 2024 — 2M+ transactions / 427M yuan ($60M) processed** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Initial pilot scale.

**Multi-country wallet acceptance** <sup>[1][1]</sup>:
- SG, MY, TH, HK, Macao initially.

**September 2025 — China-Indonesia QRIS pilot launch** [[indo]]:
- Major bilateral.

**October 30, 2025 — China-Thailand PromptPay launch** [[bot]]:
- Major bilateral.

**December 2025 — China-Vietnam launch**:
- VIETQRGlobal cross-border integration.

**UnionPay 2025 — 11 cross-border payment deals globally** [[chinaglobalsouth]]:
- Major international expansion.

## Technical specification

Unified Cross-Border QR is **China UnionPay + PCAC-coordinated cross-border QR-payment gateway** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Co-developers** | **China UnionPay Co. Ltd. + Payment and Clearing Association of China (PCAC)** |
| **Country** | China |
| **Currency** | CNY (Chinese yuan/renminbi) + foreign source currencies |
| **Trial launch** | **July 2024** |
| **Initial transactions (Sep 2024)** | 2 million / ¥427 million ($60M) |
| **Inbound wallet origin** | Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Hong Kong, Macao + others |
| **Major participants** | **Alipay, Ant International, Tencent Tenpay Global** |
| **Model** | "Four-party model" with central clearing network |
| **Regulator** | **State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)** |
| **2025 partnerships** | Indonesia QRIS, Thailand PromptPay, Vietnam VIETQRGlobal + 11 UnionPay deals |

## Use cases

**Foreign-visitor inbound QR-payments in mainland China** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Cardinal — substantial tourism-driven demand.

**Multi-country wallet acceptance** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: SG/MY/TH/HK/Macao + expanding.

**SAFE foreign-exchange-monitoring transparency** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Regulatory improvement.

**Alipay + Tencent + UnionPay integrated processing** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Multi-network unified.

**Cross-border tourism + e-commerce** <sup>[1][1]</sup>: Inbound + outbound enabling.

**Outbound Chinese-user payments at international merchants** [[chinaglobalsouth]]: UnionPay 11 deals + bilateral arrangements.

## Implementations & ecosystem

**Co-developers**: **China UnionPay Co. Ltd. + Payment and Clearing Association of China (PCAC)**.

**Major participants**: **Alipay, Ant International, Tencent Tenpay Global**.

**Regulator**: **State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE)**.

**Bilateral partners**:
- **Indonesia QRIS** (Sep 2025).
- **Thailand PromptPay** (Oct 30, 2025).
- **Vietnam VIETQRGlobal** (Dec 2025).
- **Hong Kong FPS** (existing).
- **Singapore PayNow** (existing).
- **Malaysia DuitNow** (existing).
- **Macao** (existing).

## Fun facts

- **"Four-party model" with central clearing**: Regulatory transparency improvement.
- **SAFE foreign-exchange monitoring**: Cross-border-payment compliance.
- **July 2024 gateway trial launch**: Recent infrastructure milestone.
- **2M transactions / ¥427M ($60M) in initial 2-month pilot**: Substantial scale.
- **Multi-wallet integration**: Alipay + Tencent + UnionPay simultaneously.
- **2025 China-Indonesia QRIS + China-Thailand PromptPay + China-Vietnam launches**: Rapid bilateral expansion.
- **UnionPay 11 cross-border deals 2025**: Substantial international expansion.
- **Co-developer model**: China UnionPay + PCAC industry-coordination.

## Comparison

| Feature | Unified Cross-Border QR (CN) | [Thai QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/thai-qr) / PromptPay (TH cross-border) | [QRIS](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/qris) (ID cross-border) | [KHQR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/khqr) (KH cross-border) | UPI Cross-border (IN) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Co-developers | **China UnionPay + PCAC** | BOT + member banks | BI + ASPI | NBC | NPCI |
| Type | **Cross-border gateway with central clearing** | National QR + 8+ bilateral cross-border links | National QR + 6+ bilateral | National payment + QR + 4 bilateral | UPI + 6+ bilateral |
| Trial launch | **July 2024** | n/a | n/a | n/a | n/a |
| Regulator | **SAFE** | BOT | BI | NBC | RBI |
| Major partners | **Alipay + Tencent + UnionPay** | PromptPay + member banks | QRIS member banks | NBC + banks | UPI + banks |

## Status

**Active, expanding cross-border-QR-payment hub** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:
- **China UnionPay + PCAC co-developers**.
- **July 2024 trial launch**.
- **2M+ transactions / ¥427M ($60M) Sep 2024**.
- **SG + MY + TH + HK + Macao + ID + VN wallet acceptance**.
- **2025 China-Indonesia + China-Thailand + China-Vietnam bilateral launches**.
- **UnionPay 2025: 11 cross-border deals globally**.

## Sources

[1]: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2025-11-24/in-depth-how-chinas-unified-qr-code-system-is-redefining-cross-border-payments-102386196.html "China's unified QR redefining cross-border payments — Caixin"
[2]: https://www.caixinglobal.com/2025-09-17/china-pilots-unified-cross-border-qr-code-payment-system-102363389.html "China Pilots Unified Cross-Border QR — Caixin"
[chinaglobalsouth]: https://chinaglobalsouth.com/2025/12/04/unionpay-signs-11-cross-border-payment-deals-in-global-push/ "UnionPay 11 cross-border deals — China-Global South Project"
[indo]: https://www.electronicpaymentsinternational.com/news/cross-border-qr-payment-china-indonesia/ "China-Indonesia QR launch — EPI"
[bot]: https://www.bot.or.th/en/news-and-media/news/news-20251030.html "China-Thailand QR launch — BOT"
[silkpay]: https://www.silkpay.us/blog/unionpay-integrates-with-alipay-and-wechat-pay "UnionPay × Alipay × WeChat — Silkpay"

- [1] [China's unified QR redefining cross-border payments — Caixin][1]
- [2] [China Pilots Unified Cross-Border QR — Caixin][2]
- [chinaglobalsouth] [UnionPay 11 cross-border deals — China-Global South Project][chinaglobalsouth]
- [indo] [China-Indonesia QR launch — EPI][indo]
- [bot] [China-Thailand QR launch — BOT][bot]
- <sup>[China report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CN)</sup> `reports/countries/CN-china.md`

## Deployments

Found in the following country reports (grep across `reports/countries/`):

- **CN** — [CN-china.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/CN)