Most Thais happy to go cashless in shift to digital payments, says Visa

[rooster59]

Most Thais happy to go cashless in  shift to digital payments, says Visa

By The Nation Weekend

 

 

Four out of every five Thais tried going cashless in 2018 as confidence in digital payments grew, a dramatic jump from 50 per cent the previous year.

 

The 2018 “Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes” study tracked payment habits and attitudes and explored emerging topics related to payments among 4,000 consumers in eight Southeast Asian countries, including 500 in Thailand.

 

The study showed that Thai consumers generally prefer digital payment methods such as cards, mobile apps and QR payments.

 

Suripong Tantiyanon, country manager for Visa Thailand, credited the shift in preference and the rise in confidence to industry players and the government, which have actively promoted e-payments as part of the national agenda.

 

“We also believe the increased preference for digital payments can be attributed to the proliferation of payment forms and acceptance points,” said Suripong.

 

Consumers can make payments with a wider range of connected devices and payment applications on phones and wearable devices. 

 

“QR codes meanwhile offer merchants in traditionally cash-based sectors a fast, cost-effective and secure digital-payment solution,” he said.

      

The study found that two in five Thais carried less cash than they did two years ago, compared to 26 per cent in 2017. They said they did so for security reasons, because they were making more payments digitally and because using cash was often a bother. 

 

The study also showed that, of those who tried going cashless, more than half could manage a day without cash and 45 per cent could last without cash for more than three days.

 

 

Confidence growing

 

In terms of future expectation, more Thais are confident about the country becoming a cashless society. Nearly one in three is confident that this will be a cashless society within three years, compared to 11 per cent who said so in 2017.  

 

“The findings are encouraging,” Suripong said. “We believe we’re on the right track and it’s important to help more consumers and merchants embrace the benefits of digital payments. At the same time, we’re committed to collaborating with all stakeholders in the payment industry as we continue transforming Thailand into a cashless society.”

 

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/detail/Startup_and_IT/30367260

 

-- © Copyright The Nation 2019-04-07

[bluesofa]

32 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

Four out of every five Thais tried going cashless in 2018 as confidence in digital payments grew, a dramatic jump from 50 per cent the previous year.

Interesting claim. Then we see:

34 minutes ago, rooster59 said:

The 2018 “Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes” study tracked payment habits and attitudes and explored emerging topics related to payments among 4,000 consumers in eight Southeast Asian countries, including 500 in Thailand. 

"Four out of every five Thais". Right.

 

[Lungstib]

This study obviously never moved out of the big city. These people need to get out a bit, visit the villages where 100% of all transactions takes place in cash money. They will try anything to try to convince you that letting them have a small piece of all your payments is just fine.

[topt]

Wasn't this reported from another outlet in the last week? There seem to be a lot of financial stakeholders trying to push the message for digital transactions recently.

 

As others said are surveys of such a small sample (with no explanation of the methodology) any point other than pushing a specific agenda....... 

[natway09]

My credit cards/debit cards in the village are about as useful as a one armed paperhanger

[Ireland32]

My gf cannot gamble, 4 out of 5 , BALONEY

[Peterphuket]

So it starts, framing the people, and let them thinking  that they be in the minority.

The sh*t cc companys.

[jossthaifarang]

We'll see what the fruit and food vendors at markets think..

[sfokevin]

Going cashless would make a trip to the 7-11 much better...

[Krataiboy]

A load of cobblers, as one would expect from an outfit with a vested interest in forcing us to swap good old reliable cash for plastic and inevitable debt.

 

It's hard to imagine even Thais, most of whom benefit from living in the world's seventh-biggest shadow economy, being daft enough to shoot themselves in the wallet.

 

The much-vaunted benefits of going totally cashless need to be compared with the dire consequences of handing banks and governments total control over our money.

 

What price freedom when you have nothing with which to buy it?

[balo]

Coming from a cashless society in Norway, I welcome this. I pay with my card every time I buy food at Big C and the other supermarkets. And for services when card is an option. 

But I can't see it work in Thailand in the same way , too many street vendors and small family run shops. They can't afford to install a cardreader and are not willing to pay the fees.  

[zyphodb]

This has nothing to do with convenience and everything to do with control, do you want banks and governments to have the power to turn your money supply off and on? 

[Pique Dard]

casheless in big cities? ok.  in small villages, it becomes an issue, obviously!

[Pique Dard]

4 hours ago, jossthaifarang said:

We'll see what the fruit and food vendors at markets think..

..in scandinavia, fruit and food vendors have so called cardreaders. i don't know if thai vendors would accept the system as it isn't, of course not, free of charges

[animalmagic]

There are lies, damn lies and statistics............and then there are credit card companies!

[Krataiboy]

6 hours ago, balo said:

Coming from a cashless society in Norway, I welcome this. I pay with my card every time I buy food at Big C and the other supermarkets. And for services when card is an option. 

But I can't see it work in Thailand in the same way , too many street vendors and small family run shops. They can't afford to install a cardreader and are not willing to pay the fees.  

Have you ever thought of the downside of not having cash in your pocket or wallet? We actually benefit from having cheap street vendors and inexpensive, family run shops.

Edited April 7, 2019 by Krataiboy

[tifino]

6 hours ago, balo said:

Coming from a cashless society in Norway, I welcome this. I pay with my card every time I buy food at Big C and the other supermarkets. And for services when card is an option. 

But I can't see it work in Thailand in the same way , too many street vendors and small family run shops. They can't afford to install a cardreader and are not willing to pay the fees.  

... nor willing to expose their amount of Takings/Profits, to the TaxMan. 

 

[samsensam]

 

The 2018 “Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes” study tracked payment habits and attitudes and explored emerging topics related to payments among 4,000 consumers in eight Southeast Asian countries, including 500 in Thailand.

 

this is the second time an article about this survey has been posted here, as i said before, the sample group; 500 out of almost 70 million, and with no indication of the sample spread through socio economic and geographical location render the finding meaningless.

 

the sample may well have contained only people with visa cards, how many thais up county use visa cards to make day to day payments? i come for the countryside back home and when i return cash still king, thailand's financial infrsatructure is years if not decades behind western countries

[quandow]

18 hours ago, bluesofa said:

Interesting claim. Then we see:

"Four out of every five Thais". Right.

 

DON'T confuse the issue with facts!

[balo]

4 hours ago, samsensam said:

the sample may well have contained only people with visa cards, how many thais up county use visa cards

I would think the survey would be based on visa debit cards, anyone can open a bank account and get a debit card, even the poorest Thais.

 

[swissie]

Perfect for Thai's. Getting something for "free", not having to pay for something in form of Cash on the spot. The Bill arrives at the end of the Month?
For a people that think that 2 weeks from now is somewhere in the distant future and therefore not something worth to think about? Available to everybody? Oh Boy! Now the floodgates are open.

[HaleySabai]

Its only a matter time I'm afraid, the new generation of device-driven/addicted spoon-fed sheep will indeed lay their freedoms down willingly in exchange for mere transactional conveniences.

 

The attempt to impose a “cashless society” would be a win/win; Banks and credit services stand to make zillions on fees and exchanges.

And the Governments...... would herd all citizens into a financial surveillance hub and eliminate their economic liberty.

There’s no greater threat to liberty than the government electronically tracking your every transaction.

 

[HaleySabai]

On 4/8/2019 at 5:04 AM, swissie said:

Perfect for Thai's. Getting something for "free", not having to pay for something in form of Cash on the spot. The Bill arrives at the end of the Month?
For a people that think that 2 weeks from now is somewhere in the distant future and therefore not something worth to think about? Available to everybody? Oh Boy! Now the floodgates are open.

Credit card companies don't work the same way here...throwing money at "customers" feet hoping they will pick it up,spend it and then become entrapped in the vicious-circle of permanent debt slavery.

That's the way of the West and works well.

In Thailand credit cards tend to be mostly "pre-paid"..a bazaar concept of paying interest on the use of your own money.