Krungsri’s QR payment services for Thai tourists to Laos kicks off

Thai tourists can use the KMA krungsri app to scan QR codes containing the Lao QR code symbol at merchants in Lao PDR. Similarly, merchants use Krungsri Biz Mung-Mee for their corporate operations, the bank said in a statement.

Meanwhile, Krungsri Mung-Mee Shop for Individual Businesses can accept payments from Lao tourists quickly, easily, and securely.
This initiative was part of Krungsri's current medium-term business plan (2024-26), which aimed to strengthen the bank's comprehensive network throughout ASEAN.

Ninlawan Jerraboon, Krungsri's head of Transaction Banking Group, said that the latest expansion into Laos is especially beneficial for travellers between the two countries, as well as merchants looking to increase sales opportunities. 

"Currently, QR code payments are widely used in ASEAN for both tourism and business. This simplifies, expedites, and secures cross-border transactions within ASEAN. More importantly, it increases the region's economic bargaining power and competitiveness," she explained.

Recognising the importance of developing digital payment innovations such as QR code payments, she said that Krungsri would continue to expand its services to include the entire ASEAN region and Asia-Pacific, with the goal of becoming the leading regional financial institution that connects all customer needs with trust.

Ninlawan Jerraboon

Completing ASEAN payment connectivity 

Krungsri's latest progress aligns with the Bank of Thailand's (BOT) ASEAN Payment Connectivity initiative, which aims to boost ASEAN member countries' economic potential. Under the strategic direction, BOT gradually expanded its cross-border collaboration with neighbouring countries. Singapore was the first cross-border payment arrangement made by the BOT in 2018, followed by Laos.

The BOT and the Bank of Lao PDR announced the launch of a cross-border QR payment linkage between the two countries on April 3, during the 11th ASEAN Finance Ministers' and Central Bank Governors' Meeting in Luang Prabang, Laos.

The move marked the successful integration of both countries' instant retail payment systems to boost trade, investment, tourism, and the use of local currencies as part of the ASEAN Payment Connectivity initiative.

The BOT said that beginning April 3, 2024, in the first phase, users from Laos will be able to scan Thai PromptPay QR codes displayed by merchants in Thailand using mobile banking applications from participating commercial banks.

In the second phase, which begins at the end of June 2024, Thai users will be able to scan LAO QR codes displayed by merchants in Laos using mobile banking applications provided by participating commercial banks.

Thailand currently collaborates with five ASEAN member countries: Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Vietnam. The ASEAN Payment Connectivity initiative's sixth linkage is with Laos. 

Two commercial banks from Thailand, including Krungsri, and six commercial banks from Laos will offer cross-border QR payment services to their customers through mobile payment applications.  
 

As of July 2024, Thailand's cross-border QR payments had expanded beyond ASEAN to include countries with strong economic ties to Thailand, particularly Japan and Hong Kong, which have large migrant worker and tourist populations. 

The BOT plans to launch QR code cross-border payments in India by the third quarter of this year, with the goal of expanding the network to other Asian countries and incorporating these transactions into a larger Asian multinational payment network.

ASEAN’s digital payment flourish

Recent developments provide more evidence of the exponential growth of the digital payment industry in Southeast Asia.  

According to the World Economic Forum, the region's digital payments market is expanding rapidly across countries, driven by the growing adoption of contactless payments, e-wallets, and e-commerce. Gross digital payments in the six largest ASEAN economies totalled US$806 billion in 2022, up 14% year on year, and are expected to reach nearly US$1.2 trillion by 2025.

Meanwhile, the World Bank's Global Findex 2022 report found that account ownership within financial institutions has increased significantly across ASEAN countries over the last decade. Seven of ASEAN's nine countries now have more than 60% account ownership or mobile money access: Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. 

Since 2011, the Global Findex database has served as the definitive source of data on global access to financial services, including payments, savings, and borrowing. The report, based on nationally representative surveys of around 128,000 adults in 123 economies during the COVID-19 pandemic, includes updated indicators on access to and use of formal and informal financial services, as well as digital payments, and provides insights into the behaviours that enable financial resilience.