Nearly 9 in 10 Thai consumers are interested in using digital banking – Visa Study

09/02/2020

 

Visa, the world’s leader in digital payments, today revealed nearly nine in ten (84 per cent) of Thai consumers are interested in transacting with financial institutions through digital platforms, according to the Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study (the “Study”)¹.

The Study tracks payment habits, attitudes and explore emerging topics related to payments across Southeast Asia including Thailand. The Study also found four in five of Thai consumers (80 per cent) are interested in making payments with biometric authentication.

Suripong Tantiyanon, Country Manager for Visa Thailand, said: “Thai consumers are becoming tech savvy, quickly adopting digital behaviours in their daily lives. The results of our recent study reaffirms our observation. We are very encouraged to see Thai consumers adopting digital financial services, which would lend a hand in building a strong foundation for the country’s digital economy.”

Based on the findings, four in five (81 per cent) are aware of the concept of digital banking – the online or mobile services which allow users to access bank accounts, transfer money, pay bills, and so much more without visiting a physical bank branch or using cash. The respondents cited convenience as their top motivation to adopt digital banking (61 per cent), followed by the benefits of not having to wait in line at bank branches (60 per cent) and it is a faster and more convenient way of banking (57 per cent).

The top five services Thai consumers are looking to receive from digital banks are deposits and withdrawals (72 per cent), paying bills (70 per cent), transferring money to family and friends (69 per cent), payment at retail locations (67 per cent), and investments (58 per cent).

The Study also gauged Thai consumers’ interest in the emerging technology of biometric payments – the method of using fingerprint, voice, facial or retina scan to authenticate transactions.  According to the Study, four in five (80 per cent) of Thai consumers are interested in this payment method. More specifically, those of Gen-Y (25-39 years old) exhibited higher interest than Gen-X (40-54 years old) in biometric authentication (85 per cent vs. 76 per cent).

The top drivers of interest in biometric payments are speed and convenience (53 per cent), followed by the convenience of not having to carry card or cash (50 per cent) and security also plays a key role as people feel it is generally a safer way to pay (48 per cent). Additionally, respondents also cited paying by finger scan as their most preferred biometric payment method (80 per cent), whilst consumers also feel comfortable using retina scan for biometric payments across overseas travel (52 per cent), education (42 per cent), and health & fitness (40 per cent) sectors.

“Visa is privileged to be supporting Thailand’s digital transformation.  To that end, we are pleased to be able to conduct this Study in order to listen to the interest and demand of consumers and leverage the findings to support the industry in developing tools that are not only relevant to their needs but also have the potential to elevate the livelihood of the people and together contribute to the sustainable economic progress of the country,” Khun Suripong concluded.

 

¹ The Visa Consumer Payment Attitudes Study was conducted by ENGINE insights on behalf of Visa in August 2019 across Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines and Myanmar. Total sample size is 5,102 including 505 working adults in Thailand aged 18-65, with a minimum monthly income cut-off of THB 15,000.

 

About Visa

Visa Inc. (NYSE: V) is the world’s leader in digital payments. Our mission is to connect the world through the most innovative, reliable and secure payment network - enabling individuals, businesses and economies to thrive. Our advanced global processing network, VisaNet, provides secure and reliable payments around the world, and is capable of handling more than 65,000 transaction messages a second. The company’s relentless focus on innovation is a catalyst for the rapid growth of digital commerce on any device for everyone, everywhere. As the world moves from analog to digital, Visa is applying our brand, products, people, network and scale to reshape the future of commerce. For more information, visit About Visa, visa.com/blog and @VisaNews.