Nationwide e-payments to push cashless society goal

AS PART OF Thailand’s aspiration to become a cashless society, the country will soon adopt a new nationwide e-payment method using the so-called QR Code familiar to social media users. The Bank of Thailand has approved plans by five commercial banks to introduce the QR Code e-payment service – Kasikornbank, Siam Commercial Bank, Bangkok Bank, Krungthai Bank and Government Savings Bank. The addition of the service is expected to help reduce dependence on cash transactions as more businesses are set to accept the new e-payment method. During a recent experiment in using the service at Bangkok’s Chatuchak Sunday market, more than 1,000 small vendors as well as service providers including motorcycle taxis accepted payment from customers using their mobile phones to transfer money via the QR Code. The method is convenient and carries no additional transaction costs for either sellers or service providers.The QR Code e-payment platform was pioneered by China’s e-commerce and social media giants, Alibaba and Wechat, which operate the Alipay and Wechat Pay apps respectively. Its popularity makes it possible to live in China today without having to use cash for most goods and services. China is now the world’s leader for QR Code e-payments, which has disrupted more traditional payment services such as debit and credit cards.

 

Source: Nationwide e-payments to push cashless society goal