QRIS Adoption and Its Impact on the Financial Performance of MSMEs in the Digital Era
Keywords:
QRIS; digital payment; MSME; financial performance; technology adoption; financial inclusionAbstract
The Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard (QRIS) has become the main entry point of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) into Indonesia's digital financial ecosystem, yet adoption figures say little about whether adoption improves business finances. This article explains how QRIS adoption may affect MSME financial performance and under what conditions. An integrative narrative review combines technology-adoption theory, payment-economics and small-business-finance literature, and Bank Indonesia statistics and policy announcements reported up to October 2026. The synthesis identifies three groups of adoption determinants (technological, organizational, environmental) and four channels to financial performance: market reach and sales, cost and operating efficiency, quality of financial records, and access to financing. These effects are conditional on merchant size, sector, digital and financial literacy, connectivity, and the fee regime, including the expanded zero merchant discount rate (MDR) that took effect on 1 October 2026. The article advances six propositions and a conceptual framework and argues that acceptance of QRIS alone does not guarantee better performance: benefits depend on whether owners use the transaction data and cash-flow visibility that QRIS generates. Implications for owners, providers, and regulators and a research agenda are discussed.
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Copyright (c) 2026 Indah Ariffianti, Erviva Fariantin, Yusi Faizathul Octavia, Ulfiyani Asdiansyuri
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