Bangkok--18 Feb--Siam Commercial Bank
With Siam Commercial Bank's (SCB) strong potential to drive global payment in the ASEAN region, Cambodia Commercial Bank (CCB), 100% owned by SCB, is a sponsoring bank for the interoperable QR code payment between Cambodia and Thailand. Under a cooperative framework of the National Bank of Cambodia and the Bank of Thailand to develop interoperable payment infrastructure and standards, SCB serves as an interoperable QR code payment intermediary in Thailand. From now on, Cambodian people visiting Thailand can make QR code payments with their Cambodian mobile banking app at shops displaying a Thai QR Payment sign of any Thai bank.
According to SCB President Sarut Ruttanaporn, SCB takes part in a successful step in the interoperable QR payment development. With this convenient and secure payment option, Cambodian people visiting Thailand can now make QR code payments with their Cambodian mobile banking app at shops displaying a Thai QR Payment sign of any Thai bank. SCB, as the sponsoring bank, is the intermediary managing effective and secure payment transactions between Cambodian and Thai banks at both ends. The cooperative development helps promote local currencies with less exchange risks as the payment will be automatically converted to a local currency that enables more convenience to the increasing number of travelers between the two countries.
In the next phase under the cooperative development framework between the two central banks, the interoperable QR code payment will be available for Thai people visiting Cambodia. Having provided financial services to individual and corporate customers as a local bank in Cambodia for 29 years, CCB is among the local banks work as the sponsoring banks for effective interoperable QR code payments among banks and non-bank institutions in Cambodia as well as SCB, the payment intermediary between the two countries. The interoperable QR code payment in Cambodia is expected to be available in the third quarter this year.
In Thailand, there are over 5 million merchants that accept QR payments across the country with 1.5 million being SCB merchants. Over the past 5 years, we have seen the number of Cambodian traveler double to 1 million. With Thailand's developed payment infrastructure and interoperable QR, Cambodian travelers would benefit in accessing 5 million merchants nationwide.
On the other side, presently there are over 50 million mobile banking users with SCB having 10.6 million, when Thai travelers go to Cambodia, they would be able to make QR payment at any merchants.
"SCB and CCB are ready to support interoperable payment development in Cambodia and Thailand with our potential to answer the needs of each customer segment. Effective financial system is a key fundamental to promote consumption, trade, and investment to support sustainable economic growth in both countries."