Visa Inc. has been innovating payment technology to financially empower global citizens since 1958. You could call it the original fintech company. Today’s broad spectrum of digital payments is enabling consumers and businesses to transform the way they pay and be paid as the much-heralded “Cashless Society” comes closer to reality.
Thailand is one of the leading countries in Southeast Asia when it comes to the use of digital payments. According to the latest Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes study, nearly nine in ten Thais are already living their daily life without cash. Among those who have attempted going cashless, almost half can go at least a week without using cash, in part thanks to the rapid expansion of digital payments acceptance among businesses large and small.
“Changes in consumer behaviour, including a rise in Ecommerce and the adoption of Tap to Pay contactless payments, have all contributed to the acceleration of digital payments in Thailand,” explains Pipavin Sodprasert, Country Manager, Visa Thailand. “Visa is continuing to support businesses and governments in a world that is accelerating towards digital-first experiences, and ensuring they are able to access the growing number of ways to pay and be paid.”
The Visa network covers 3.9 billion cards, 14,900 financial institutions in more than 200 countries, and more than 80 million merchant locations worldwide.
“Over 89 percent1 of Thai consumers use cashless payments and they are keen to pay digitally for a wide range of products and services. As an example, 63 percent2 of Bangkok’s subway and skytrain commuters want to use their bank-issued Visa card to “Tap to Pay” for their daily commute instead of topping up their stored value card as it is faster and more convenient.”
As people returned to work after Covid-19 cases waned, contactless payments on Bangkok’s blue and purple subway lines grew 134 percent, while Visa’s Tap to Pay payments at Bangkok tollways grew 41 percent3.
Another trend the pandemic accelerated is the shift to online shopping and the use of digital payments to pay online. When consumers followed, they became aware of the security benefits of digital payments over cash.
“Technology has enabled new innovative ways to pay and be paid, but it has also brought unique risks. To stay ahead of fraud, we need to work together and give security the same attention and investment as we do the innovations driving new commerce experiences. Over the past five years Visa has invested more than $9 billion in technology to secure the payments ecosystem and ensure consumers and businesses remain safe,” Pipavin continued. “Trust is the key to driving and unlocking an increasingly digital future.”
Visa’s flagship Artificial Intelligence-based platform, Visa Advanced Authorization, prevented roughly $26 billion in fraud worldwide last year and screened 30 percent more transactions than in 2020.
Greater opportunity for consumer payments
More and more consumers are paying for goods and services and paying each other (peer-to-peer) digitally, but a strong and growing preference for digital payments isn’t just within the border of Thailand. The trend is evolving towards near real-time, cross border payments. This is all possible with Visa Direct, a home-grown payment solution that allows families to receive money from loved ones across borders, gig workers to receive payouts directly to their accounts, merchants to access cash flow daily, and governments and businesses to quickly and securely pay each other.
Facilitating money movement globally
As Thai businesses continue to expand into the global marketplace, they are looking for faster, more convenient and secure ways to pay their vendors and business partners. Visa’s B2B Connect solution is making this possible for cross-border transactions. The solution is available in more than 100 countries and territories, with more banks joining the platform. Moreover, the business-to-business payments space is also diversifying in the form of commercial cards, small business cards, T&E and purchasing cards, as well as virtual cards.
Visa is committed to supporting Thailand’s digital transformation. This is demonstrated in the introduction of new payment innovations such as Tap to Pay contactless payment technology. Visa cardholders made over 3.8 million Tap to Pay transactions in June 20214 more than double the number of such transactions in the same period in the previous year. Visa is also focused on expanding digital payments acceptance across the country to include everyone from small retailers to big businesses and widening public transportation networks.
“All of this activity in Thailand and around the world points to the growing trend that the future of money is digital. Visa is driven by a company purpose to uplift everyone everywhere by being the best way to pay and be paid. As we look ahead, we are excited about the innovations and value we can bring to the country, our clients, and partners. Together, we have built a robust foundation and we are well-positioned to take the next step into a world of payments and money movement that is becoming increasingly digital,” Pipavin concluded.
1 The Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2021 was conducted by CLEAR on behalf of Visa in October 2021 across seven Southeast Asian countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The total sample size is 6,520 including 1,000 consumers in Thailand aged 18-65, covering all education groups with a minimum income cut-off of THB 15,000.
2 According to the 2022 Visa Transit survey, which was conducted by YouGov among 2,000 Thai respondents online in June 2022.
3The 2022 Visa Transit survey was conducted by YouGov among 2,000 Thai respondents online in June 2022.
4 VisaNet data June 2021 vs June 2020.