Study finds most Thais prefer digital payments

By The Nation

 

 

Visa, a world leader in digital payments, said on Wednesday (September 2) that nearly nine in 10 Thai consumers are interested in transacting through digital platforms.

 

The Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study tracked payment habits, attitudes and explored emerging topics related to payments across Southeast Asia including Thailand. The study also found that four out of five Thai consumers (80 per cent) were interested in making payments with biometric authentication.

 

Suripong Tantiyanon, country manager for Visa Thailand, said: “Thai consumers are becoming tech savvy, quickly adopting digital behaviour in their daily lives. The results of our recent study reaffirms our observation. We are encouraged to see Thai consumers adopting digital financial services, which would lend a hand in building a strong foundation for the country’s digital economy.”

 

Based on the findings, four in five (81 per cent) are aware of the concept of digital banking –online or mobile services that allow users to access bank accounts, transfer money, pay bills etc without having to visit a bank or use cash.

 

The respondents cited convenience as their top motivation in adopting digital banking (61 per cent), followed by not having to wait in line at banks (60 per cent) and finding it to be a faster way of banking (57 per cent).

 

The top five services Thai consumers are looking to receive from digital banks are deposits and withdrawals (72 per cent), paying bills (70 per cent), transferring money to family and friends (69 per cent), payment at retail locations (67 per cent) and investments (58 per cent).

 

The study also gauged Thai consumers’ interest in the emerging technology of biometric payments and found that four out of five (80 per cent) Thai consumers are interested in this payment method. More specifically, those of Gen-Y (25-39 years old) exhibited higher interest than Gen-X (40-54 years old) in biometric authentication (85 per cent vs 76 per cent).

 

The top drivers of interest in biometric payments are speed and convenience (53 per cent), followed by the convenience of not having to carry card or cash (50 per cent) and security (48 per cent).

Additionally, respondents also cited paying by finger scan as their most preferred biometric payment method (80 per cent), whilst consumers also feel comfortable using retina scan to make payments while travelling overseas (52 per cent) or for education (42 per cent) and health & fitness (40 per cent).

The study was conducted by ENGINE insights on behalf of Visa in August last year in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Myanmar. Total sample size was 5,102, including 505 working adults in Thailand aged 18-65, with a minimum monthly income of Bt15,000.

 

 

Source: https://www.nationthailand.com/business/30393904

 

-- © Copyright The Nation Thailand 2020-09-02

 

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1 minute ago, webfact said:

The study was conducted by ENGINE insights on behalf of Visa in August last year in Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Myanmar. Total sample size was 5,102, including 505 working adults in Thailand aged 18-65, with a minimum monthly income of Bt15,000.

Well it must be true with that huge 505 working adults as a sample size. Divide that by the number of adults in Thailand and Bam. Thai mathematics.

 

If you had to have the money in an electronic platform like Alipay or Wechat, I would suspect most would not prefer it and they would have little or no money to pay for anything.

 

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

Visa, a world leader in digital payments,

 

13 minutes ago, webfact said:

The study was conducted by ENGINE insights on behalf of Visa

 

So no bias in the findings then.

According to their survey, Thais are interested in digital banking and biometric payments, and the conclusion is that most Thais prefer digital payments? They should have just asked "Do you prefer digital payments?"

But maybe this didn't yield their desired result, so they made up their own conclusion, based on different questions. Who would have expected another outcome of a study which is financed by a company offering digital payment solutions...

Edited September 2, 20205 yr by jackdd

Which financial institution conducted the study?
Oh, Visa.  Do you actually think any financial institution will be promoting studies that say, "The target population prefers to use cash" considering that they are dead-set on ushering in a 'cashless society.'   Then every one of your transactions can be tracked and traced and that data sold to the highest bidder.  It's turning into a pretty god-awful world in my humble opinion.
"Oh, but it's convenient."
Bunk.  It can be leveraged and turned into revenue for the banks and corporations who control the finances. 

I've found this to be true in unexpected places.

The builders merchant at the end of my road wanted direct deposit for purchases (can't be bothered with cash/change).

The guy who sold me his m/c wanted a bank transfer as well.

Also the FB pharmacy I use wants bank transfers and a photo of the transaction.

 

Easy enough to do on my phone, they take a photo of the completed transaction as a record.

Costs nothing (they don't want VISA or MASTERCARD though).

Quite surprised really.

Edited September 2, 20205 yr by BritManToo

the real reason a thai wouldn't take your cash; is because they are kaytowing to the eChina movement - and been brainwashed a falangs cash is diseased

1 hour ago, BritManToo said:

I've found this to be true in unexpected places.

i find that a lot of brick places want transfers ahead of time too. ????

 

 

I assume this was a survey conducted online.

Did they do the same survey face to face in downtown Udon Nowhere which has no mains electricity/Internet/Wi-Fi?

Edited September 2, 20205 yr by fangless

16 hours ago, webfact said:

Study finds most Thais prefer digital payments

Not at my local market!

This isn't news. This is BS propaganda for more control and a cashless society where the banks screw the people out of even more money. The posed question was skewed and the the whole study was biased. How can people fall for this kind of stuff? Never forget: Cash is King!

digital banking and  Thailands  ability to protect your  money and their reluctance to payback any monies taken often by their staff.....erm  no thanks

I live in rural Khampaeng Phet and I go to the bank for an ATM withdrawal and then pay my normal shopping in cash, even at BigC and Makro.

 

The rest of the monthly bills I simply do a bank transfer. I have been doing it that way for years.

 

The KISS principle applies.

So the propaganda and deepfakes have made it here... Not surprised I must say, just hope that all the "connectedness" & dealings will keep cash alive here for a loooong time to come!

I tend to doubt the conclusions of this heavily biased survey. For online purchases, I get it. But, I think most Thais still love cash, as I do. Standing behind 6 people at a coffee shop, when each one pays with a card feels Inane. I hate it. It feels like a personal weakness, not to carry cash around. I know guys in the US, who have wives that forbid them from carrying cash, so they can monitor everything. Is that who you want to be in life? Leaving a paper trail of your whole life behind. Weak. Sorry, but that is the way many of us see it. 

 

On the other hand, I know guys who always have $500 cash, or 20,000 baht in their pockets. They are real men! 

Edited September 3, 20205 yr by spidermike007