The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has revealed a plan to introduce QR code cross-border payments with India by the third quarter of this year, pushing for a goal to integrate these operations into a broader Asian multinational payment network. The development is the latest extension of Thailand’s cross-border payment capabilities, which already includes countries such as Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and Japan.
BOT Assistant Governor Daranee Saeju cited the collaboration with India as a major step in expanding the bank’s international payment services. The existing partnership with Singapore, for example, already supports both QR code transactions and remittance services.
The Bank also plans to transition from bilateral to multinational payment linkages, which will streamline and enhance the efficiency of regional money transfers. The expansion of this system also aligns with broader trends in Thailand’s financial landscape, where digital transactions have been progressively increasing.
PromptPay, Thailand’s national electronic payment platform, is central to this shift, representing continuous growth since its inception in 2016, especially during the pandemic. The platform has seen a surge in usage, with registrations reaching 77.6 million. In December 2023, daily financial transactions via PromptPay hit a record of 75.9 million, with average daily transfers last year totaling 54.5 million transactions valued at 130 billion baht. (NNT)
