- Kyle Chua
Singapore’s NETS, Thailand’s National ITMX Expand Cross-Border QR Payment Collaboration
The cross-border payment collaboration between Singapore and Thailand just became a lot more convenient as the number of participating outlets continue to expand.
Network for Electronic Transfers (NETS), Singapore’s leading payment services group, and its Thai counterpart National ITMX has announced the expansion of their QR payment project, which facilitates cashless payments between the two Southeast Asian countries.
Singaporeans travelling to Thailand can use local banking apps like DBS PayLah! and OCBC Pay Anyone to scan the country's national PromptPay QR and make payments at over eight million retail outlets across popular tourist
destinations, including Bangkok, Pattaya and Phuket. By next year, UOB TMRW users can enjoy the same benefit as well.
The expansion of the cashless option makes payments more seamless for Singaporean tourists who want to shop in popular spots like Chatuchak, MBK, Platinum Mall and various bazaar markets. They simply need to check if the merchant accepts PromptPay QR, then they can pay using their local app of choice.
"More small merchants that previously accepted cash only are now able to accept QR payments through this service," said NETS Group CEO Mr Lawrence Chan. "In addition, consumers are able to enjoy competitive exchange rates and yet not deal with currency cash conversion."
"Having a QR payment option with competitive exchange rates will increase convenience for shoppers as they no longer need to worry about having cash on hand," he added.
In the same way, Thai travellers visiting Singapore can also pay by scanning any NETS QR using apps from participating banks and e-wallets, such as Bank of Ayudhya, Bangkok Bank and Krungthai Bank. There are about 120,000 NETS acceptance points in Singapore. These NETS merchants also already accept WeChat Pay and Bhim QR payments, BCA, RuPay and MyDebit bank cards as well as e-wallets participating in Alipay+ solutions.
This particular collaboration only covers payments between Singapore and Thailand. But the two countries are also part of a larger cross-border QR payment partnership among the five largest Southeast Asian economies, which include Malaysia, Indonesia and the Philippines. The five countries are expected to integrate their payment networks by November.
Singapore's NETS and its Thai counterpart National ITMX has announced the expansion of their QR payment project, which facilitates cashless payments between the two countries.
Singaporeans travelling to Thailand can use local banking apps like DBS PayLah! and OCBC Pay Anyone to scan the country's national PromptPay QR and make payments at over eight million retail outlets.
By next year, UOB TMRW users can enjoy the same benefit as well.
In the same way, Thai travellers visiting Singapore can also pay by scanning any NETS QR using apps from participating banks and e-wallets.