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The Bank of Thailand (BOT), in its role as the payment policy-making authority, has been at the forefront of advancing Thailand’s payment systems to achieve greater efficiency, security, and safety. This progress aligns with the nation’s Payment Systems Roadmaps, which lay out a strategic plan for enhancing payment infrastructure and services.
BOT’s efforts have been directed towards streamlining payment processes, making them more efficient to facilitate seamless transactions. Additionally, they have strongly emphasised security measures to safeguard financial transactions, thereby instilling trust among users.
Alongside these initiatives, Thailand has taken significant steps towards fostering payment integration across the ASEAN region. This collaborative effort within ASEAN, including the Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in Regional Payment Connectivity (MOU RPC), underscores Thailand’s commitment to regional financial cooperation and connectivity.
By joining forces with fellow ASEAN nations, Thailand aims to create a more interconnected and efficient payment landscape that benefits its citizens and businesses and promotes economic integration throughout the region.
To support this initiative, Thailand has recently hosted a significant meeting that provided the platform for The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) to join the Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) initiative and formalise its commitment to enhancing regional payment connectivity.
This meeting in Bangkok was a pivotal event that witnessed the expansion of RPC membership and promoted cooperation among ASEAN nations in international payments and financial connectivity.
This collaborative effort follows the initiation of the MOU RPC by the central banks of prominent Southeast Asian nations, namely Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. The genesis of this cooperation can be traced back to the G20 Summit held in November 2022 in Bali, where the seeds of RPC were sown.
This occasion was witnessed by the current member countries of the MOU RPC, which include the Central Banks of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. This membership expansion aligns harmoniously with the guidelines set forth by the 9th AFMGM and resonates with one of the pivotal objectives of Indonesia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2023.
RPC aims to foster cooperation in international payments, with a vision to make them swifter, more cost-effective, transparent, and accessible to a broader user base. This collaborative endeavour encompasses various facets of payment systems, including integrating QR codes and expeditious payment processing. The overarching goal of RPC is to render the international payment landscape seamless and convenient, all at an affordable cost. It aims to facilitate transactions between citizens and businesses across ASEAN countries, fostering regional economic growth in digital economy realm.
The data revealed that cross-border transaction volumes are expected to grow in the coming years. Over the past few years, cross-border payments worldwide have increased from USD 127.8 trillion in 2018 to USD 156 trillion in 2022. With a more interconnected and borderless global economy, there is a pressing need for cross-border payments to be faster, more affordable, transparent, and accessible to everyone.
In this context, collaboration and innovation will be the primary drivers in building a more robust and efficient ASEAN payment system. BOT believes that RPC can potentially expand its reach to neighbouring countries and even beyond the ASEAN region, contributing to greater global economic integration. All relevant parties ensure that payment systems such as real-time transfers and QR code payments are accessible to all ASEAN communities, thus strengthening the overall ASEAN economy.
