Cashless society seen in three years
THE Thailand E-Payment Trade Association (TEPA) believes Thailand will go cashless within three years. E-money accounts would grow this year by 10 per cent from 40 million or about 60 per cent of the population last year and online payments by 20-30 per cent from Bt170 billion, according to TEPA.
Punnamas Vichitkulwongsa, chairman of TEPA and chief executive of Ascend Group, said the association now counts 16 e-payment service provider members, such as TrueMoney, mPay and Thai Smart Card.
The factors driving customers to open e-money accounts to support their daily routines are the competition by banks and non-bank providers to meet the demands of customers and the potential for more customers to pay for products and services via online channels.
The association will help develop the e-payment and e-commerce industry in the country by adopting the Thai QR Code and PromptPay.
The Thai QR Code employs a common standard for e-payments in the country.
PromptPay services will include PromptPay e-wallet services on September 15.
TEPA will upgrade the country’s e-payment industry to global standards and boost confidence in e-payment among Thai consumers and retailers.
E-transactions will be part of the Thailand 4.0 initiative, which will help businesses reduce operating costs, create confidence for consumers and provide greater convenience for consumers to pay for products and service fees.
Ascend Group has 3 million active TrueMoney accounts now and expects 4 million by the end of the year. Each account-holder spends an average of Bt220 per time to buy products or services
Somwang Luangphaiboonsri, country lead at PayPal Thailand, said e-transactions continue to grow because customers have confidence to spend money via e-payment channels in the country, due to the government’s support for e-payments.
PayPal has 210 million active accounts and 17 million active business accounts globally. It enables businesses and customers to make secure cross-border transactions while affording protection to buyers and sellers.
