Close to a quarter of Thais are aware of QR code as a payment method -- the highest in Southeast Asia -- and almost half would like to use it on a regular basis, according to a study commissioned by Visa.
Visa is working with five issuers to make QR code payments available for Visa credit cardholders early next year, according to a company spokesperson.
Visa recently obtained a domestic network licence from the Bank of Thailand, allowing the company to fully participate in Thailand's domestic debit market and enabling consumers the options to use their Visa debit cards for standardised QR code payments.
The Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study 2017 was conducted by Intuit Research on behalf of Visa from July to August 2017 in seven Southeast Asian countries: Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The sample included 513 working Thai adults with a monthly personal income of 15,000 baht and above.
Quick response or QR code payment is already popular among millennials or Generation Y, those born in the early 1980s through to the turn of the millennium. Across all age groups, 42% of people surveyed said they already using QR code to make payments. But usage among Gen Y was strongest at 53%, compared with only 29% among Gen X, those born between the early 1960s and early 80s.
The majority of respondents approved of their QR Code payment experiences, with almost half of those saying they had "great" user experiences. Only 1% claimed to have had a "bad experience".
Suripong Tantiyanon, country manager of Visa Thailand, said: "The introduction of standardised QR code payments earlier this year ensures that merchants can accept QR code payments from all providers using the common standard. This is key to succeeding in this fragmented market and thriving in the era of a hyper-connected digital economy."
Since the launch and implementation of the national e-payment plan, much attention has been given to QR code as the most cost-efficient and scalable way to expand access to electronic payments. As more people want to use QR payments, solutions have proliferated. To date there are more than 20 financial institutions and non-financial players, including telecommunications networks, that offer QR code payments solutions -- many of which still remain in a closed loop.
"Consumers not only demand international acceptance and multi-layered security, they also want special offers, and reward programmes," Mr Suripong said.
The study found that the top three most popular categories for QR code payments are bill payments (50%), purchases at convenience stores (39%) and groceries (36%), which suggests that consumers are willing to use this payment method on a frequent if not daily basis.
"Given that people want to use QR code payments regularly, it is important that they are not limited to just one source of funds. Moving forward, consumers will choose whether they want to pay using their debit, credit or prepaid cards registered on their mobile applications," he said.
Consumers are setting higher standards for QR code payments. For more than half, ease of use is the most important consideration, while 52% want faster transaction times. Close to 38% seek "enjoyable" and interesting" user experiences. Security remains important for 36% of respondents.
