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e-Payment, or electronic payment, is spending or transferring money through electronic channels, such as paying bills via mobile phones, using credit or debit cards to pay for goods and services at stores and online, etc
e-Wallet or electronic wallet, is a type of e-Payment service, like a wallet used to store money. which is in the form of e-Money, provided by a bank or non-bank. It can be paid at merchants that accept QR code payments or transferred.
A recent study on the payment behavior of Thai people by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) found that although Thais still prefer to use cash, the use of e-Payment and e-Wallets tends to increase and grow sharply. especially during the past 2-3 years.
In accordance with technology development and government support policies, especially the Promtpay project in 2017, that helps to lower the transferred cost. At the same time, there are many functionalities because it is a central infrastructure that can extend additional services, such as government money transfers, retail and business transfers, e-Donation, and QR Payment, which currently has service points at over 6 million locations around the country.
Although the use of e-payment and e-wallet by Thai people is still limited in some groups. But it is undeniable that COVID-19 is one of the key factors that has caused people to use e-payment and make more e-wallet transactions. This is partly due to concerns about touching cash directly. This trend has happened all around the world, as reflected by search statistics for keywords related to “Cash and COVID,” based on a study by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), which found searches were rising higher in March-April 2020.
Because it is the period with the highest COVID-19 epidemic, and interestingly, the search statistics are consistent with the situation in each country. For the first time since Jan. 2020, when it started spreading, South Korea has been found to have a high search engine. and rose again in May 2020, with the second round of outbreaks. While Singapore, Thailand, and around the world have sequentially increased search statistics since February.
From the information, it can be seen that e-Payment spending through various services such as e-Wallet or Internet Banking is gaining popularity. In your opinion, how many years is it going to take for us to see electronic spending as a basic payment for everyday life?
