Thailand Using Less Cash As QR Codes and EMV Gain Adoption

The share of cash in the overall payment volume within Thailand is expected to decline between 2018 and 2022, according to research firm GlobalData.

GlobalData’s report Thailand Cards & Payments: Opportunities and Risks to 2022» reveals that the share of cash in the overall payment volume is expected to decline from 85.6 percent in 2018 to 77.8 percent in 2022. During the same period, the total card payment value is expected to increase from 1.8 trillion Baht ($56.1bn) to 2.7 trillion Baht ($83.8bn).

The government’s attempts to promote non-cash payments such as the introduction of faster payments and QR codes, mandatory issuance of EMV cards and push for point-of-sale (POS) adoption are contributing to the growth of electronic payments, said Nikhil Reddy, Payments Analyst at GlobalData, in a media statement.

As part of the National e-Payment Master Plan, the Thai government launched a nationwide program two years ago to drive POS installation among smaller retailers and government agencies. Merchants were offered benefits such as tax deduction, fee waivers on POS issuance and rental, and a cut down on merchant discount rates.

In the same year, the central bank collaborated with American Express, JCB International, Mastercard, UnionPay, Visa and other financial services providers to introduce the Thai QR Code Payment standard, with an aim to create an open, interoperable payments infrastructure.

In 2016, the Bank of Thailand launched a faster payment system, PromptPay, allowing users to make peer-to-peer transfers and payments through their mobile phone using only the recipient’s mobile number or national ID number. As of December 2018, 46.5 million users, over half of the country’s population, had registered for the system.

Though cash will continue to remain dominant in Thailand, these measures will certainly propel electronic payments, thereby further reduce the usage of cash over the next five years, said Reddy.