Thailand continues to lay the foundations for a digital economy and is gradually nudging the country in the direction of a cashless society. The centrepiece of the government effort is PromptPay, an electronic money transfer service that links an ID card or mobile number with a bank account and now has more than 32 million registrations.
Other measures include expansion of electronic data capture (EDC) terminal use to support all kinds of cards, as well as the e-welfare cards that were launched recently.
But Thailand still has a long way to go, according to the research report Digital Planet 2017, conducted by US-based Tufts University in partnership with Mastercard. It tracked the progress countries have made in developing their digital economies and integrating connectivity into the lives of the population. Norway ranked first on the list of advanced digital economies, while Thailand was 42nd. Singapore ranked sixth, the highest in Southeast Asia.
Thailand is among peers such as South Africa, Peru, Egypt, Greece, and Pakistan, which the report listed as "constrained by low levels of digital advancement and slow pace of growth".
The study suggests that to enhance the adoption of digital payment, governments have to bring more citizens online by closing the mobile internet gap to improve access to the internet for their citizens.
At the consumer level, making the switch from cash to cards or a swipe of a smartphone is still a big leap, if an informal Asia Focus survey of Bangkok residents is anything to go by. Twenty-four of the 45 people we spoke to still think that cash has the upper hand, with most saying security issues were their main concern.
On the other hand, those who answered that they prefer cashless or digital payments frequently cited convenience and traceability as basis for their preference.
However, 86.7% (39 out of 45) do believe that Thailand will become cashless sooner rather than later. How soon? The number of years the interviewees think it will take to turn society cashless range from 3 to 20, with 10 years as the median.
From a perspective of a Thai living abroad, Thitipong Sansanayuth, an engineer working in Sweden, says he prefers digital payment over cash.
"Sweden has long become a cashless society," he said. "The last time I used cash was when I went back to visit Thailand. Every transaction in Sweden is cashless, processed through cards, mobile phones or over the internet. Digital payment is secure, fast, and convenient.
"I think digital payment is safe; however, security of the system must also be taken into consideration. Also, traceability is another area in which digital payment beats cash, because every transaction you make online can be traced and tracked."
While the younger population seems to be optimistic about digital payment and the idea of a cashless society, for older people, the prospect of going digital is somewhat frightening.
Sawat Kanya, a 52-year-old laundry business owner in Ratchathewi district, is less enthusiastic.
"For an old person like myself, I just don't understand the digital system; I don't know how to use it so I am a bit scared," she said. "I don't even put my money in the bank. I think the Ministry of Digital Economy should do more by educating Thais, especially the older generation, in how to use digital payment. I think once people have the knowledge, digital payment will not be as scary."
Rom Hiranpruk, a member of the payment systems committee at the Bank of Thailand, remains upbeat about the progress being made.
Although not all Thai people may be ready for a cashless society yet and the transition will take a long time, the country is "on the right track" in its creation of infrastructure that will facilitate the adoption of e-payment and the broader goal of a cashless economy.