A Thai shopper can now pay a Malaysian merchant by pointing a phone at a QR code. Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) and the Bank of Thailand switched on the first leg of a cross-border payment link, finishing phase one on 18 June 2021, according to BNM’s statement.
The link joins two real-time retail payment systems: DuitNow in Malaysia and PromptPay in Thailand. In phase one, users in Thailand can scan DuitNow QR codes in their mobile payment apps to pay merchants in Malaysia, online cross-border e-commerce purchases included. The banks said the service should help more people once international travel resumes, since they can pay by app rather than with cash.
Two more phases
Phase two goes the other way. Users in Malaysia will scan Thai QR codes to pay merchants in Thailand. The banks expect that in the fourth quarter of 2021.
Phase three adds cross-border remittance. Users in both countries will be able to send real-time transfers by typing in the recipient’s mobile phone number. That is slated for the fourth quarter of 2022, almost a year after phase two. The whole project began in June 2020.
Two banks have signed up so far, CIMB Thai Bank and Public Bank Berhad, and both have started offering the service. The central banks said more institutions are expected to join and widen the network of users and merchants.
What officials said
BNM deputy governor Datuk Abdul Rasheed Ghaffour said the link “will enhance the efficiency and convenience of cross-border payments by providing users with faster, cheaper, and more inclusive payment arrangements.” It will, he added, give consumers and merchants “more options” and serve as “a key enabler to strengthen regional connectivity and financial integration.”
The Bank of Thailand’s deputy governor, Ronadol Numnonda, pointed to the central bank’s record of pursuing such links. The connection, he said, builds on Thailand’s domestic payment infrastructure and “will also facilitate the cross-border trade and e-commerce, thus contributing to economic growth and digitalisation.”
Both banks said the link should support recovery after the pandemic and strengthen economic ties between the two countries. They called it a key milestone in the ASEAN Payment Connectivity initiative, begun in 2019 with eight ASEAN countries. The initiative aims to lower transaction fees for consumers and promote financial integration among the members.
It is not Thailand’s first such arrangement. The Bank of Thailand and the State Bank of Vietnam launched a cross-border QR payments service between their two countries in April.
Sources
- Thai and Malaysian central banks roll out real-time cross-border QR payments
- Malaysia And Thailand Enable Cross-Border QR Payment Between Both Nations
Sources
- Thai and Malaysian central banks roll out real-time cross-border QR…
- Malaysia And Thailand Enable Cross-Border QR Payment Between…
