How international travelers, nomads & expats can pay with QR codes in Laos
The night market in Luang Prabang, a slow boat on the Mekong, a coffee in Vientiane: Laos is calm, and paying should be too. Moreta Pay scans the OnePay code at the stall, funded from your own bank or card, so you never carry a brick of kip.
OnePay
Costs, limits and tips
Paying in Laos
Guide updated
What it costs
- Transaction fee
- 1.5%
- Exchange rate today
- 1 USD = 22,075 LAKLive rate, updated recently
Limits
- Max payment
- 65M LAK
- Weekly limit
- 130M LAK
The app always shows the live rate and the exact cost before you pay.
Before you go
- Moreta Pay doesn't currently support LAO QR codes. If a merchant only has one, ask if they have a OnePay QR you can scan.
Local tips
- Look for the OnePay mark. Small guesthouses may keep the code on a card behind the desk.
- Keep kip in small notes for tuk-tuks, temple fees and villages without a signal.
- The app needs data when you scan, so add an eSIM or a Lao SIM at the airport.
Why QR code is the best way to pay in Laos
QR codes are how people pay in Laos: hold up a phone, scan the code on the counter, done. With the kip running to tens of thousands per dollar, Lao merchants moved to QR fast. OnePay from BCEL is the code you see most, at cafés, guesthouses, minimarts and market stalls.
Moreta gives you the same thing as a visitor. A scan is contactless, so there is no card to hand over and no cash to carry, and each payment costs one flat fee at the live rate instead of a foreign transaction fee and a marked-up rate from your bank at home.
The problem with paying abroad as a tourist, expat or nomad
Paying abroad with the card in your wallet is easy until it is not. Your bank may block the first charge as suspicious. When it goes through, most cards add a foreign transaction fee and convert at a rate of their choosing, and some terminals offer to charge you in your own currency at a worse one.
Cash is no better. ATMs stack your bank's withdrawal fee, the operator's fee and a poor rate, and you still end up carrying more Lao kip than you need and changing the rest back at the airport. Paying by QR from a wallet you fund yourself skips all of it: one fee, the live rate and no plastic.
Card or cash
- A foreign transaction fee on most cards
- Your bank's rate, or the terminal's worse one
- ATM fees from your bank and the operator
- Leftover Lao kip to change back
Moreta
- One flat fee, shown before you slide to pay
- The live rate at the moment you pay
- No ATM and no card to hand over
- What you do not spend stays for the next country
How Moreta Pay works
Moreta is a wallet on your phone that pays OnePay codes as if a local had scanned them. Set it up once, at home or on the plane, and it is ready before you land in Laos.
01Verify your identity
Download Moreta, scan your passport and take a selfie. Verification usually takes a few minutes, and your account can move money as soon as it passes.
- 02
Load funds to your Moreta Pay wallet
Link a US bank through Plaid, or send a SEPA, Faster Payments, Interac or PayID transfer. Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and USDC work too, and you can top up from the road.
- 03
Scan QR codes at local shops & restaurants
Tap Scan and point your camera at the OnePay code on the counter. Moreta reads it the way a Lao bank app would.
- 04
Get seamless payments on the go
Check the amount in Lao kip, what it costs in your own currency and the fee, then slide to pay. The merchant sees the payment in their own app the moment it clears.
USD
EUR
GBP
CAD
AUD
Why Moreta Pay is better than alternatives
No local bank account required
Pay from the bank or card you already have. Nothing to open, nothing to close when you leave.
Seamless integration with OnePay
OnePay is BCEL's payment service, the most common sticker in the country. Moreta pays those codes directly, showing the amount in kip and in your own currency first.
Designed for international travelers, expats & nomads
A two-week trip or a year abroad, it works the same, and what you do not spend stays for the next country.
Several accepted payment types
Top up by bank transfer in US dollars, euros, pounds, Canadian or Australian dollars, or with a card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or USDC.
Lower fees compared to cash or card alternatives
One flat fee per payment, shown before you confirm. No ATM fees, and most banks add no foreign transaction fee.
Instant, contactless QR payments
Scan, check, slide. Nothing to hand over, and the merchant is paid in seconds.
Real exchange rates
Every payment converts to Lao kip at the live rate at the moment you pay.
See today's rate
Frequently asked questions
What travellers ask before paying by QR in Laos.
Showing 6 of 9 questions
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More ways to pay
Activate your Moreta Pay account before your trip
Set up Moreta, add money and land in Laos ready to scan. No cash to change, no card to worry about, and one flat fee at the live rate on every payment.
Also works in 
Vietnam, 
Thailand, 
Cambodia, 
the Philippines, 
Malaysia, and 8 more countries