Bangkok Bank launches QR payments between Thailand and Vietnam

By Leandra Monteiro

Bangkok Bank has unveiled their cross-border QR payments solution between Thailand and Vietnam with the cooperation of the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and State Bank of Vietnam (SBV). Through this new payment solution customers of the bank in Thailand and Vietnam will be enabled to make QR payments via mobile banking application between the two countries.

Bangkok Bank claims this is more convenient and has lower exchange rate fees due to the higher number of merchants that support the QR payment system. According to the company, the number of e-payment transactions in 2020, including QR code payments, reached 13.39 million, up by 49.14% from the previous year.

Bangkok Bank deems that when economic activities return to normalcy and cross-border travel and tourism gradually recover, the cross-border QR payment service will play an important role in supporting economic activities during the recovery period.

“In the initial stage, cross-border QR payments will meet the needs of specific groups such as Vietnamese who are working in Thailand or Thais who are working in Vietnam, including online shopping between countries, etc. We believe that in the future when the Covid-19 situation eases, overseas travel will resume and regional travel will start first, particularly in countries that have efficient systems to manage and control the spread of Covid-19, such as Thailand and Vietnam. Therefore, we are confident that the cross-border QR payment service via Bangkok Bank Mobile Banking will expand quickly and be available for wider use in the future,” said Charamporn Jotikasthira.