BANGKOK--(THAI BUSINESS NEWS)--Jul. 05, 2018

State Railway of Thailand bracing for 4.0 era teams up with KBank to accept fare via QR code

Today (July 5, 2018), at Bangkok Station, State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and KASIKORNBANK (KBank) jointly delivered a press conference on the launch of train ticket payment service via QR code with Electronic Data Capture (EDC) under the concept “the New Era of Cashless Train Society” to offer greater alternatives for commuters in the 4.0 era. The event was presided over by Mr. Voravuth Mala, SRT acting governor and Mr. Patchara Samalapa, KBank President.

Mr. Voravuth said that in response to the forthcoming cashless society in alignment with the Thailand 4.0 policy, SRT thus debuted the train ticket payment service via QR Code as a new option for commuters to enhance convenience and security in making fare payment. SRT and KBank have completely installed EDC machines to accept fare payment with VISA and MasterCard credit cards. There are now 140 EDC machines available at 56 main stations including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Nongkhai, Hat Yai Junction, Chumphon, etc. Of this number, 14 are located at Bangkok Station. Now customers are able to scan QR code of any mobile banking service via EDC to buy train tickets. This initiative marks another milestone of SRT to embrace the cashless society. Additional EDC machines will be gradually installed to ensure service coverage.

Mr. Patchara Samalapa, KBank President, said that KBank has developed QR code payment service for various modes of public transport systems such as airline, ferry and public bus. KBank cooperation with SRT today caters to the changing lifestyle of commuters and makes the payment process fast and convenient, while offering them a seamless experience toward the cashless society. In addition, the QR code payment for train service will help SRT reduce the management cost and ease the workload of SRT officers.

At present, 2.4 million Thai and international passengers use rail transport services per month or around 80,000 daily and the number is set to increase in line with Thailand’s booming tourism industry, particularly after the completion of additional rail transport systems including dual-track railway and high-speed train. Currently, a majority of 92 percent of passengers prefer using cash to pay for train fares, with only 6 percent of them using credit card for payment.  Thanks to modernized rail systems and the behavior of new-generation consumers who are more familiar with digital payment, QR code payment service will expand further because the electronic payment service is responsive to the evolving consumer lifestyle.

Mr. Voravuth added that SRT had already organized training on the use of the QR Code payment system via EDC device for train station officers to offer greater convenience for passengers at ticket counters of any railway station. Train passengers are also invited to join SRT in promoting “the New Era of Cashless Train Society”. For more information, please visit SRT at any railway station, or contact our Call Center at 1690, available 24 hours daily, or www.railway.co.th, or SRT PR Team Facebook Fanpage.