Cashless bus fares hit the road
Krungthai Bank (KTB) teamed up with the Bangkok Mass Transit Authority (BMTA) to launch cashless bus fare payment services in Bangkok and the metropolitan area on Tuesday.
The cashless payment can be made through BMTA’s electric ticket or QR code scanning via the Krung Thai Next app or via other mobile banking including through debit/credit cards that have the “contactless” symbol, or even by using state welfare cards through an electronic data capture (EDC) machine.
BMTA director Surachai Eamvachirasakul said on Tuesday that the cashless payment is now available on every bus. Passengers can pay fares via the EDC machine with electronic tickets (one-trip payment); an advance-payment electronic ticket (unlimited access); an electronic student card; debit/credit cards with the contactless symbol; or the state welfare card. This also includes QR code scanning to pay for fares via the Krung Thai Next app or by mobile banking of any bank free of charge.
KTB first executive vice president Kittipat Peantham said Krung Thai Bank was also entrusted by the BMTA to install and implement the QR code payment system on the airport buses that operate at Don Mueang Airport.
“The bank has completed installation of the EDC machine on all BMTA vehicles. The fare collector can check and confirm payments by passengers via the EDC as the BMTA is able to monitor payments on each bus via a website. This helps increase cash management capabilities and reduce the cost of logistics management,” Kittipat said.
