The Global Digital Report 2019 conducted by HootSuite and WeAreSocial found there are 49 million mobile social media users in Thailand. They also ranked Thailand No.1 for mobile Banking users, second for ownership of cryptocurrency, and third in mobile commerce.
This aligns well with the trends we are seeing in Thailand at the moment. There is a huge spike in digital payments, especially through mobile in amongst Thais. Fund transfers via traditional bank branches declined by 30% in 2018 from the preceding two years and those via ATMs dipped by 34% over the same period, according to the Bank of Thailand.
Digital payment transactions on the other hand surged by 83% from 2016 to 5.85 billion last year, with an average of 89 transactions per user per year. As of the end of 2018, PromptPay’s registration numbers reached 46.5 million, of which 29.3 million signed up with their citizen ID card, 16.8 million by mobile phone numbers, 71,000 were registered by corporate films and the remainder via digital wallets.
What does this mean for businesses?
Whether you offer subscription-based services, selling products online or even have a storefront – it’s now very important to have a mobile responsive communication gateway, whether it be a website or application with a secure, fast and reliable payment gateway. Speed, in terms of website loading speed to customer service is also a critical factor, especially for the impatient and unforgiving 71% of active mobile users in Thailand.
In addition to this, for those with a storefront, it’s now time to have other means of payment besides cash. With a majority of the younger generation going cashless, accepting payments via cards, PromptPay, wire transfer and in some cases, digital wallets can be just the change you need to make for more sales!
