Financial transactions via PromptPay, Thailand’s national electronic payment platform, tallied a new high last year, while cash transactions posted a notable decline.
In December 2023, the total number of financial transactions using PromptPay recorded a high of 75.9 million per day.
On average, daily money transfers via the platform last year amounted to 54.5 million with a total value of 130 billion baht, according to the Bank of Thailand’s Payment Insight report.
Money transfers of less than 5,000 baht decreased in average ticket size, dropping to 510 baht per transaction in December compared with 570 baht per transaction in January last year.
The decline in average ticket size reflects the country’s improving financial inclusion and widespread adoption of PromptPay as a routine payment platform among individuals, according to the report.
PromptPay registrations totalled 77.2 million as of December last year. Since its implementation in 2016, PromptPay usage has surged, particularly during the pandemic.
The report noted digital payments rose significantly among Thais the past few years as the country moved towards a cashless society.
On average, there were 538 digital payment transactions made per user in 2023, up from 135 in 2019.
The growth was attributed to use of internet and mobile banking channels, with accounts from these channels combined 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 several years.
In 2023, the number of e-money accounts tallied 117 million, 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 24,835 baht per person per year in 2023, down from 32,977 baht 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, according to the report.
In a related development, the Bank of Thailand and the Bank of the Lao P.D.R. 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 and Japan.
The collaboration aims 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.