Central Group teams up with 6 banks for new QR code payments
LEADING mall developer Central Pattana (CPN) has partnered with six banks to promote the transition to a cashless economy.
Customers will be able to start paying for products and service fee charges via QR code technology at some 4,000 shops in CPN properties in the first quarter of this year. Pakorn Pattanapat, chief operating officer of CPN, said the company had linked with Bangkok Bank, Bangkok of Ayudhya, Government Savings Bank, Kasikornbank, Krungthai Bank and Siam Commercial Bank to the provide the QR code payment services.
The 4,000 or so shops that will be set up for the new payment methods posted total revenue of around Bt3 billion last year. Pakorn said that during this quarter, the company will install the QR code readers in the shops that are spread across CPN shopping centres, such as Central World, Central Plaza and Central Festival.
The shops that are being fitted with the readers offer 822 fashion brands, 805 information technology and electronics brands, and include more than 1,500 kiosk-type outlets and miscellaneous and smaller tenants, as well as 800 restaurants in Food Park in more than 30 CPN shopping centres. Some of the brand names include Giordano, Guy Laroche and Mezzo Coffee.
The firm expects that the shops will generate revenue via online transactions this year of around Bt300 million, or 10 per cent of the total revenue posted last year. The firm also expects that the retail market in Thailand this year will grow by 10-20 per cent. “We want to drive forward the cashless society in this country to support the next generation and the lifestyles of customers in the digital era and Thailand 4.0,” Pakorn said.
“The QR code payment will be part of the drive towards e-payment in this country. The country now has payments for products and service fees via e-payment at around 25 per cent, with around 26 million mobile banking accounts nationwide. “The firm also believes that it will have around 30 million mobile banking customers by the end of this year.
The QR Code payment will promote and support both shops and customers to do business transactions via online payment and encourage Thailand to adopt to the cashless society. We will work with business partners to offer promotions and provide privileges based on Big Data derived from this programme to spur payments through QR code payments.” CPN operates branches of Central World, Central Plaza and Central Festival across the country.
Source: Nation
