bank transfers and card payments through EDC machines. Nowadays, accepting QR code payments has become the norm among street vendors to cashiers in department stores. This started toward the end of 2015 when the Thai government introduced a national e-payment system. Both government and private agencies have continuously supported the use of e-payment by upgrading the payment infrastructure, reducing fees for interbank transfers, and
. This, combined with the COVID-19 outbreak and greater access to technology, has caused the
to snowball over the past few years.
PromptPay paved the way for digital payments
In 2016, the Bank of Thailand launched the PromptPay system, making it one of the first official mobile payment systems implemented in Thai banks countrywide. PromptPay uses the users’ citizen identification or mobile number to connect to their bank accounts. Once connected, users can transfer money using the recipient's phone number, with the money arriving within seconds. PromptPay has revolutionized the way Thai consumers receive and send money, making way for development in other areas of digital payments, especially for mobile QR codes among small businesses and street vendors. The
value of PromptPay transactions has continuously risen throughout the years, signifying a growing preference for digital payments. In the same vein as PromptPay, e-wallets have become a popular alternative payment method in Thailand. Most e-wallets stood out because of their promotional discount offers, such as cashback and point system benefits.
Leading mobile wallet brands in Thailand include True Money, LINE Pay, and ShopeePay. The
number of mobile wallet users was forecast to increase to almost 51 million across different brands by 2025, signifying strong growth of digital payment usage in the country.
Digital payment prospects in Thailand
In 2022, the
fintech market value in Thailand reached approximately 42.5 billion Thai baht. Throughout the years, Thailand's financial technology for digital payment systems has been primarily consumer-centric. Most payment systems were mainly developed for customer-to-customer transfers and were later extended for cross-bank payment services, cross-border payments, and cross-border remittances. The Bank of Thailand plans to involve smart technologies in financial transaction systems to facilitate more robust business infrastructures. Additionally,
the country's growing cryptocurrency scene has brought awareness to creating guarantees on blockchain transfers to ensure safety in decentralized financial systems, further emphasizing safe digital infrastructures for the business sectors in Thailand.
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