Lee Eog-weon, chairperson of the Financial Services Commission (FSC), said on the 22nd that Korea and India will launch a service within the year that allows their citizens to make QR code payments in the other country without currency exchange.
The chairperson said on X (formerly Twitter) that on the 20th, at the Korea-India Financial Cooperation Forum, the sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to link QR payments. The chairperson is accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on a trip to India and Vietnam.
The chairperson added, "By signing the QR payment linkage MOU, we decided to push ahead so that, after the service launches within the year, people in both Korea and India can conveniently pay with the apps they use at home, without currency exchange," and explained, "This will reduce per-transaction fees by 2 percentage points compared with credit cards."
The chairperson also said an MOU was signed with the International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA), creating a bridge for Korean financial companies to enter the financial hub in India's GIFT City.
Regarding the forum, the chairperson said, "It opened a new chapter of financial cooperation with India, our key partner," and added, "In particular, in the capital markets session, we confirmed both countries' continued commitment to cooperate so Korean investors can invest in individual Indian stocks."
In addition, the chairperson met with India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to discuss revitalizing exchanges in Fintech and digital finance and strengthening cooperation through the National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) of India.
The chairperson said, "India is a rising nation with a population of 1.47 billion and annual growth of 7–8%," and added, "We will swiftly turn the cooperation tasks with India confirmed on this trip into policy and practice so that the achievements of diplomacy translate directly into benefits for the people."