Trend towards e-payments continues
The use of bank cheques has declined 2 per cent in the second quarter as companies have gradually shifted from paper-based payments to e-payments, according to a Bank of Thailand (BOT) official.
Sayan Pariwat, a senior director of the BOT's payment systems department, said the reduction is still below the central bank's target of 3 per cent. However, there was a marked fall-off after the cost of payment by cheque was raised to Bt15 per transaction from Bt5 in April. Payment by cheque had earlier been falling at a lower rate. "We still cannot conclude that cheque usage is dying out completely. The reduction is mostly related to low-value amounts. Eight million cheques are still being used every month and this may rise again next month," Sayan said. He said he was certain the reduction in cheque payments by businesses was due to higher charges rather than the economic slowdown. He said that cheque payments by companies in the export sector had continued to increase this year. In addition to the business sector, the central bank has encouraged the Revenue Department to cut down on paying by cheque. The department allegedly makes extensive use of cheques for tax refunds. Sayan said the department had reacted slowly to the request due to its own internal system. It is also wary of making incorrect payments of tax refunds. "The department tried making tax refunds by the e-payment method but reverted back to cheques. It will take some time to adjust to the e-payment method," he said. The senior director said that with the central bank's cooperation, the introduction of e-payment at commercial banks and other organisations will take about a year, as it is necessary to develop the Interbank Transaction Management and Exchange system. Sayan said the BOT has not yet required banks to provide chip-based credit cards as the Malaysian central bank had done because the level of illegal transactions had not increased very much in Thailand and the current security system is effective. However, commercial banks could offer chipped credit cards to existing cardholders, particularly those who have to make a lot of payments while on business abroad. He said he was more concerned about line-tap fraud where large sums of money can be stolen from bank accounts.
Anoma Srisukkasem The Nation
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