The State Railway of Thailand (SRT) and Kasikornbank (KBank) have launched a QR code train ticket payment service.
Voravuth Mala, SRT acting governor, said a cashless society in alignment with the Thailand 4.0 policy meant SRT was trying to make it easier for commuters to enhance convenience and fare payment. A total of 140 ticket machines will accept payments with Visa and MasterCard cards at 56 stations, including Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Ubon Ratchathani, Nongkhai, Hat Yai Junction and Chumphon. More are planned.
Patchara Samalapa, KBank president, said QR code payments were also available for airlines, ferries and buses, reducing staff costs.
At present, 2.4 million passengers use trains each month or around 80,000 daily and the number is set to increase with high-speed rail. Currently, only 6 per cent of passengers use bank cards for payment.
