The Electronic Transactions Development Agency (ETDA) has a revolutionary way of invoicing information transfers with the unveiling of its electronic-invoice platform early next year.
The move should help pave the way for a digital economy, said Wanawit Ahkuputra, ETDA's deputy director.
In collaboration with the Bank of Thailand as well as the Excise Department and the Federation of Thai Industries, the e-invoice, short for electronic invoice, service helps local businesses enhance their efficiency by reducing costs for printing and postage.
It also makes handling supplier invoices easier, faster and more productive, said Mr Wanawit.
E-invoice is the electronic transfer of invoicing information, including billing and payment, between business partners, linking the internal processes of enterprises to payment systems.
Based on its survey, Mr Wanawit said paper-based invoicing costs a bank around 3.31 billion baht per year. The average cost of processing invoices is four baht per page.
"Electronic transactions are crucial in pushing Thailand towards a digital economy," he said.
Mr Wanawit said ETDA will join with the United Nations Centre for Trade Facilitation and Electronic Business (UN/CEFACT) to jointly define the details of the process in establishing international electronic data interchange standards for electronic trades.
The standards will be an important tool to facilitate international trade procedures and practices.
UN/CEFACT is encouraging its member countries to jointly develop the standard.
He said participating in the process should help Thailand develop greater competitiveness in global trade.
"We're looking to propose standard details for electronic-related auto parts, destination travel information for tourism and cloud computing," he said.