Thailand Shows Interest in Adopting VocaLink's Faster Payments Service

Riding on the success of its Faster Payments service in the U.K., payment infrastructure operator VocaLink recently announced plans to work with National ITMX, the operator of Thailand’s interbank payments network, to potentially develop a similar system in that country.

The VocaLink real-time payments platform brings unprecedented convenience and certainty to businesses and consumers alike, bringing payment technology in line with today’s digital economy and 24x365 society. By bringing universal benefits to business-to-consumer, person-to-business, person-to-person, business-to-business and government sector transactions, it’s clear to see why another country is showing interest in a Faster Payments system.

“A real time mobile payments system is a core enabler of applications that connect and engage banks and their customers — from P2P payments to mobile commerce,” said Paul Stoddart, Managing Director of Strategy, Products, Marketing & Business Development at VocaLink. “It supports the development of an inclusive digital economy that benefits consumers, businesses and the wider economy."

VocaLink’s architecture has already been exported to Singapore, meaning Thailand will be the third country to benefit from the technology, and the company plans to launch a “Pay by bank” mobile app under the Zapp brand in its home country within the next year.

Faster Payments was first launched in 2008 and quickly gained the support of leading U.K. banks and financial institutions, implying that a similar fast adoption will occur when it is introduced in Thailand.

“We chose VocaLink as a key partner because of their proven track record in the delivery of both the UK Faster Payments Service and Singapore’s ISO20022 FAST real-time payments systems,” commented Wanna Notarbhorn, Managing Director at National ITMX. “We believe they are best placed to help us identify options for delivering efficient and reliable mobile payments services in Thailand.”

As of now there is only a letter of intent signed between the two companies, but there seems to be no reason why these plans will not soon come to fruition. Real-time payment systems including this one offered by VocaLink have already spread to almost 30 countries (sadly, the U.S. is not one of them) and Thailand would be remiss not to be one of the next to update its obsolete payments infrastructure.