Testing QRIS in Thailand, from Street Vendors to Restaurants

Debates over the pronunciation of Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard, or QRIS, as “kris”, “kyuris”, or “kiris” appear to be becoming outdated. This is because QRIS development has advanced far beyond such issues.

Not only within the country, QRIS can now truly be used in other nations. One of them is Thailand since August 2022. Republika had the opportunity to try using QRIS directly in Bangkok.

Without bringing a single Thai Baht note, Republika headed to the city officially named Krung Thep Maha Nakhon. The aim was to test the practicality of QRIS there, from street snacks (PKL) to dining at restaurants.

On Thursday night (7/5/2026), Republika was walking along the roadside in Phra Nakhon. Not far from Wat Pho and about a 5-minute boat ride to Wat Arun.

There, a middle-aged woman was selling various skewers of satay. Together with a colleague who has long lived in Thailand, Republika tried buying one skewer of chicken skin satay.

Without carrying cash, the snack could be taken home because on her stall table was a QR PromptPay. That QR code could be scanned using the QRIS in an Indonesian bank’s app.

Besides at roadside vendor carts, Republika also had the chance to try paying with QRIS at one of the halal restaurants near Siam Square, Pathum Wan, Bangkok.

Republika enjoyed several menu items there, including Thailand’s signature crispy fried chicken called Gai Tod Hatyai and the sweet mango sticky rice known as Kao-Niao Ma-Muang.

There, Republika and the group paid for the food we ate using the PromptPay QR and it succeeded. The restaurant supervisor, Phrigkiao Amanee Salaeh, said that 10-15 percent of Indonesian diners at the place already use QRIS as a payment method.

“Many Indonesians eat here. Around 10-15 percent use QRIS. The rest use cash or cards,” said Amanee during a conversation using half Malay and half English.

Republika also tried using QRIS on the last day to buy coffee at the “Factory” coffee shop, one of the busiest in Bangkok. Its branch was not far from the hotel, only about 3 km away.

Using a Grab motorbike, the fare to be paid was 26 Baht. Republika chose the payment method on Grab using the QR displayed after the trip was completed.