Thailand looks towards cashless society

Financial transactions via PromptPay - Thailand’s national electronic payment platform – reached a new high last year while cash transactions posted a notable decline.

According to the Bank of Thailand’s Payment Insight report, daily money transfers via the platform in 2023 amounted to 54.5 million on average with a total value of THB130 billion ($3.55 billion).

In December alone, the total number of financial transactions using PromptPay recorded a high of 75.9 million per day.

PromptPay registrations reached 77.2 million as of that month. Since its implementation in 2016, PromptPay usage has surged, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Digital payments have risen significantly among Thais in the past few years as the country moved towards a cashless society, according to the report. On average, there were 538 digital payment transactions made per user last year, up from 135 in 2019.

The growth was attributed to the use of Internet and mobile banking channels, with accounts from these channels reaching 136 million in 2023, up from 89.5 million in 2019.

Similarly, digital payments made via e-money services have increased over the past few years. Last year, the number of e-money accounts tallied 117 million in Thailand, up from 82.5 million accounts in 2019.

On average, cash withdrawals fell to 2,118 per person in 2023 from 2,414 in 2019, noted the report. Cash withdrawals in value terms declined to THB24,835 per person per year last year, down from THB32,977 per person per year in 2019.

The number of cash withdrawals at ATMs via mobile banking features without utilising an ATM card tripled in 2023 from 2018.

Meanwhile, in a related development, the Thai central bank and the Bank of Laos recently launched a cross-border QR payment linkage, facilitating seamless transactions between Thailand and Laos.

The initiative also extends to Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong (China), and Japan, aiming to encourage digital payment systems between Thailand and countries in the region to increase trade, investment, tourism, and the use of local currencies under the ASEAN Payment Connectivity initiative.