Alliance aims to cut use of cash at shops
Welcome to a cashless society where you can say goodbye to coins and banknotes. The “One Plus” initiative means people will be free from carrying cash to pay for daily products.
There are seven business partners in One Plus: 7-Eleven, Counter Service, True Corp, Unilever, UBC, BTS and RS Promotion. Korsak Chairasmisak, chief executive officer of CP Seven Eleven Plc, said at the launch of the cash-card alliance last week that the initiative of the seven founder members would lead people into the next era, when they would not need to carry cash in their pockets, just a card that they could use to pay for regular goods and services. “Thailand is up with the global trend towards a cashless society, along with Hong Kong and Singapore, countries where cash cards outnumber people. Hong Kong’s six million people have 10 million cash cards, while Singapore’s three million have six million cards. “In the digital world we will say goodbye to banknotes and coins,” said Korsak. The group aims to have more than one million cash cards issued by the end of this year and predicts people will use cash cards in the same way as they use cash to pay for transport, entertainment and meals. By the end of this year BTS Skytrain customers will be able to use the cash card as a BTS card to move through the gates at stations. Surapong Laoha-unya, director of Bangkok Mass Transit System Plc, the Skytrain operator, said the company was developing a system to support the new cash card.
asina@nationgroup.com Asina Pornwasin The Nation
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