The Bank of Thailand will announce its standardised quick response (QR) code for electronic money payments later this month, Finance Minister Apisak Tantivorawong said on Wednesday.
With a standard code, financial institutions would be able to introduce QR code-based payment services, he said.
QR services bear lower costs than payment with cards and electronic data capture (EDC) terminals, the minister said. Forgery is impossible and fraud is rare with QR payments, unlike payment with credit cards.
However, EDC terminals must still be installed because not all people have smart devices to use QR code services, Mr Apisak said.
The government plans to install 560,000 EDC terminals at chosen locations by next March. As of June, 184,000 had been installed.
Use of a QR code allows customers make bill payments in seconds, for example by simply scanning the QR code on their paper or electronic bill with their mobile or tablet device.
The minister also announced progress on the national e-payment scheme.
To date, 31.5 million people had registered for PromptPay money transfer services. Of these, 23.5 million people registered with their ID cards, and the rest with their mobile phone numbers.
Mr Apisak said that sometime next year the government would pay and receive money completely via electronic means.