Monthly prize draws for individuals, traders using PromptPay service
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Following discussions with state agencies, the Finance Ministry has agreed to give random financial rewards worth Bt7 million a month in total to individuals who use the PromptPay service and to merchants that install electronic data capture (EDC) to acce
Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said yesterday that the ministry would randomly select the monthly prize winners, starting from next January.
Bt5.5 million a month will be allocated for individuals who transfer money via the PromtPay channel, and a further Bt1.5 million will be for merchants that install EDC to accept debit and credit cards under the scheme.
The ministry believes the rewards campaign, which will run until the end of 2017, will help motivate traders and members of the public to use the nationwide cashless-payment system, Apisak said.
Prize winners will be rewarded in the form of e-money, not cash, with the maximum monthly prize for individuals possibly being as high Bt1 million, he said, stressing that the prize fund would be supported by state agencies – and not be met from the fiscal budget.
PromptPay opens for official registration on July 15, although individuals can pre-register for the scheme from tomorrow.
Individuals can register via bank branches, mobile banking or Internet banking by linking their National ID or mobile-phone number with a deposit account.
The PromptPay service formally commences operations in November, with the banks agreeing to waive transfer fees for those sending up to Bt5,000 per transaction.
Apisak said that anyone receiving welfare benefits from the government must register for PromptPay between July 15 and August 15.
Meanwhile, some banks are running promotional campaigns in a bid to persuade customers to make PromptPay transactions through them.
For example, CIMB Thai Bank will offer two promotions to customers who register for PromptPay with the bank.
It will transfer Bt50 to the deposit accounts of customers who link their account with their National ID, or waive the SMS-alert fee for 12 months for those who link their deposit account with a mobile-phone number.
Normally, CIMB Thai Bank charges Bt20 per month to customers who use its SMS alert service, which means they would save Bt240 per year when they use PromptPay service through the bank if they choose the second option, said senior executive vice president Adisorn Sermchaiwong.
The promotions will be offered to customers who register for PromptPay from July 15 to August 31.
Thanachart Bank plans to introduce additional fee promotions relating to its Freever savings deposit account for customers linking the account with their National ID or mobile phone, said Anurak Tantipipattana, senior vice president for CASA (current and savings accounts) and e-banking.
At present, Freever depositors benefit from free charges for all transactions at the ATMs of any bank, free bill payments to customers who make transactions at Thanachart Bank’s ATMs, and free inter-bank money transfers twice a month.
Meanwhile, the Cabinet on Tuesday approved in principle the development of a national e-payment master plan involving government agencies, state enterprises and provincial administrative organisations which deal with financial transactions involving the general public and private organisations.
It also approved the installation of adequate equipment to support the national e-payment service, with installation work commencing this September and scheduled to be completed within a year.
State agencies must also revise rules and regulations to facilitate the fully integrated national e-payment service system and proceed with the guidelines set by the national e-payment committee.
