News Feed

The central bank says a large number of Thais do not know that they can use debit cards in the same manner as credit cards, which has resulted in a low volume of usage. 
The Bank of Thailand’s assistant governor for the Payment Systems Policy and Financial Technology Group, Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya, said the bank had instructed various financial institutions to put more effort into promoting the use of debit cards in place of cash. She said a debit card is more convenient and safer than cash, which also has a higher management cost. 
She said most consumers were under the impression that the cards could only be used to withdraw cash from automated teller machines. 
Furthermore, the central bank has a goal of installing electronic draft capture (EDC) devices in at least 560,000 stores nationwide by March next year, in order to provide better support to debit-card holders. 
Siritida said several banks had lowered their processing fees in order to make this payment method more appealing to a wider range of vendors.

BIKERS BACK TOURISM

A caravan of 25 motorcycles from five countries is participating in a campaign titled “The 15th Wingers Camaraderie Ride to Mae Sot District, Tak Province” to promote regional tourism and investment. 
The event is a joint undertaking of the Tak Tourism Office, the Tak Chamber of Commerce, Tak Tourist Police and the Tak Office of Tourism and Sports. A group of motorcyclists from Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, China and Thailand are participating in the campaign to promote Asean investment, trade and tourism, as well as tourism in Tak province. 
They have visited several tourist attractions in Tak and will later travel to Nay Pyi Taw, Myanmar, via a border checkpoint in Mae Sot district. After their trip to Myanmar ends, they are expected to return to Tak.