Payment By QR Code - Why not more popular?

[Ratsima]

Payment by QR code has been around for a while now, but I rarely see anyone use it; Thai or Farang.

I use it whenever available, mainly because it means that I don't always have to replenish my supply of small notes in deference to those vendors who look at a 1000 baht bill as if it were a piece of soiled tissue.

I wonder why it hasn't caught on more. Do people view it as insecure, or too complex, or too time consuming, or what?

Granted, it can be awkward if the clerk hasn't been properly trained in the procedure, but once they catch on it's fast and easy. I especially like the card-less ATM withdrawals.

[laphanphon]

I'm not doing any new 'payment' methods, as seems a new one every month, every vendor, every promo, every new app. and I can't keep up.

Paper & coins, until the 'Universal Central Bank' is established, and they can simply scan the back of my hand, and the mandatory chip implant will pay all, along with with containing all my financials, medical, legal records, GPS tracking. Oh goody, no more TM30.

Holy Buddha........I hope I die soon ........ 555

[Ratsima]

[Ginjaninja]

The Chinese use WeChat for so many payments. Leagues ahead of Thailand and U.K. for that matter too. Really don't understand why at least the U.K. hasn't moved passed bank cards...

[Ratsima]

It will be interesting to see what payment methods end up prevailing in Thailand. The QR system is so easy to use. If a vendor wants to accept QR payment all they need to do is post a printout of their Prompt Pay QR code. The customer scans, enters the payment amount and shows the completed transaction to the vendor. (The vendor can also verify via their smartphone bank app.)

[STEVE G]

The Chinese use WeChat for so many payments. Leagues ahead of Thailand and U.K. for that matter too. Really don't understand why at least the U.K. hasn't moved passed bank cards...

My bank card is much easier to carry than my smart phone which I generally leave at home when I go out.

[Ratsima]

A bank card is probably one of least secure payment methods around.

[T.O.M.]

It will be interesting to see what payment methods end up prevailing in Thailand. The QR system is so easy to use. If a vendor wants to accept QR payment all they need to do is post a printout of their Prompt Pay QR code. The customer scans, enters the payment amount and shows the completed transaction to the vendor. (The vendor can also verify via their smartphone bank app.)

And that is supposed to be easier than paying cash....?
Just another toy for tech-nerds.
Thankfully Thailand is very much a cash society, where even big purchases (land, house , car) are done with cash in a plastic bag....That is my kind of society...

[Ratsima]

Guilty. I’m a tech-nerd and I love this stuff.

[europtimiste]

I love cash and bank card payment.

[STEVE G]

A bank card is probably one of least secure payment methods around.

I stick it in an ATM to get cash and have never had a problem with that, I've been doing it that way since I got my first bank account in 1980.
Incidentally, isn't it the case that in some parts of China, paying for things by phone is linked in to this bizarre Social Credit scheme whereby you buy a six pack of beer and your score goes down and you go to the back of the queue for other services?

[Ratsima]

I guess I always figured I was living in the land of Luddites.

Oh, well.

[STEVE G]

I guess I always figured I was living in the land of Luddites.

Oh, well.

To be honest, until you posted this I had no idea that you could pay for anything by QR code and I still haven't got the slightest idea how you would go about doing that. I haven't even got internet banking on my account here, I've still got a bank book and the only other one of those I've ever had is from the UK post office for a savings account my Mother opened for me in the 1960's which now looks like a museum exhibit.

[Spitfire]

Personally, I don't want there to be an electronic trail of every single minor transaction I make or some greedy corporation or snooping government to know everything like that I bought some milk and bread somewhere on a Friday afternoon ... it's too much. As for the Chinese citizen score index judging you on what you buy, geez, George Orwell would be turn in his grave.

Freedom is about choice and as soon you start restricting freedom of choice then you are making society less free. Take for instance, the charge towards the cashless society is a good example ... I like cash but I also use other methods of payment too and use whichever one I deem to be appropriate for the transaction. I have choice to select so am thus more free than if they do away with cash and for everyone to use this that or the other. I am aware of the government arguments about cash being an aid for crime etc. but so many freedoms are being taken away in the name of security etc. that I think we should keep some things.

What happens when they have everyone micro chipped (mark of the beast style), no cash left and they deem you not acceptable anymore and turn off your chip? You can't trade, buy or borrow anything. Chinese would love it and it seems many are happy to give up their freedoms and charge like lemmings off the cliff just so long as they can stare into the smart phone and have social media.

[Nereus]

Cashless movement picks up steam

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/17 ... s-up-steam

Online payments are growing exponentially as banks and tech firms enter the segment

While cash remains king in Thailand, dominating 90% of the country’s total payment value, exponential growth in online payments after banks waived digital transaction fees and a consumer shift towards digital platforms suggest the notion of a cash-free society is gathering steam.

Digital payments gained ground in Thailand after PromptPay, the government-initiated money transfer and payment scheme, was launched in early 2017.

Banks scrapped digital transaction fees in the following years, giving a big boost to online transaction growth.
PromptPay registrants totalled 49 million in early July, while the number of merchants providing QR code payment service jumped to 5 million from 3 million at the end of 2018.

Average mobile banking transactions reached 100 per year per user, up from 80 last year and 60 two years ago.

People are using less cash for payment in Thailand, but several areas need to be developed to move towards a cashless economy, said Siritida Panomwon Na Ayudhya, assistant governor for payment systems policy at the Bank of Thailand.

Building up platforms, innovative financial instruments and people’s awareness on digital transactions are needed to scale up the country’s e-payment.

Even though consumer-to-consumer PromptPay service adoption has taken off, a further push is needed to make business-to-consumer PromptPay successful, she said.

Business operators, particularly small and medium-sized enterprises, are expected to take more time for digital payment adoption, especially in terms of accounting.

“In going digital, we cannot leave anyone behind,” Ms Siritida said.
“Digital adoption will take some time.”

Banks are enthusiastically extending financial services on digital platforms to keep pace with customers’ changing lifestyles, improving their engagement and accessing a new client group in addition to the unbanked. This move comes as banks are besieged by tech giants offering financial services.

Financial institutions are preparing to officially launch electronic know-yourcustomer (e-KYC) registration through biometric technology, a digital authentication service that enables customers to sign up for digital lending or deposit accounts online.

Digital banking services are expected to provide new income growth for banks.

With online verification, customers, particularly the unbanked, can open new accounts, apply for loans online, take out life insurance policies and invest in mutual fund companies through their electronic devices.

The Bank of Thailand allowed financial institutions to offer e-KYC using biometric technology to open new deposit accounts in July.

Siam Commercial Bank, Kasikornbank and Bank of Ayudhya are among the banks that recently reported successful e-KYC service tests in the central bank’s regulatory sandbox.

The central bank is also joining with its counterparts in Asean to develop cross-border digital banking, building up the platform and strengthening security.

The Bank of Thailand signed a memorandum of understanding for cooperation on a pilot project to develop interoperability of standard QR payment with the National Bank of Cambodia. The service is expected to be implemented this year.

The service is already available across Thailand and Laos as well as Thailand and Singap ore.

Several commercial banks are poised to expand the scope of QR code payment service abroad, particularly in Asean.

Bangkok Bank, for example, offers cross-border payments via standardised QR code in Japan and aims to extend digital payment services across Asean in the next phase.