The cashless/cardless transaction tool QRIS is becoming more ubiquitous by the day, but have we been pronouncing it correctly all this time?
For muggles who still prefer traditional transaction methods, QRIS stands for Quick Response Code Indonesian Standard, and it involves customers paying via scanning a QR code with their phones.
Like many, we have been separating the Q as its own syllable when pronouncing QRIS at the checkout. That means we have been saying “kyu-ris” or “ki-ris” as kyu and ki are both acceptable pronunciations of the letter Q in Indonesian.
We were wrong, Bank Indonesia (BI) says.
“The correct pronunciation of QRIS is ‘kris’, not ‘kyu-ris’ or ‘ki-ris’,” the central bank’s Transaction Systems Policy Department Head Fitria Irmi Triswati told Detik today.
Basically, it sounds exactly like the name Chris.
Of course, that’s only the official pronunciation, so it’s probably wise to remain flexible to all variations of QRIS’ pronunciations in order to avoid confusion in your daily transactions. Language is fluid, after all.
QRIS was launched on Aug. 17, 2019 and it was quickly adopted by most major banking and e-payment apps.
Thanks to a cross-border deal sealed in 2022, you can now also make payments in Thailand and Malaysia using QRIS, with Singapore to follow soon.
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