to build service recognition and support Thai transition to cashless society, targeting at more than 500,000 QR code signups by the end of 2018
- A market insightinspired characterization of ‘Mae Manee’ as digital-generation version of ‘nang kwak’ to win in the favor of merchantsnationwide.
Bangkok (November 9, 2017) – SCB continues to oil the wheels of the national e-payment scheme as a vehicle destined for cashless society bybringing real-life experiences to people inregulatory sandbox of the Bank of Thailand (BoT). With today’s launch of ‘SCB EASY PAY – Mae Manee Money Solution’ campaign, the bank is securing anew beachheadinQR code payment. The new campaignwill build good perception, recognition, and popularity of SCB EASY PAY QR Code among its target userswith help of ‘Mae Manee’, a character based onan insight into merchants toserveas ‘nang kwak’ beckoning figurine of the Digital Age. Its integrated marketing communication highlights anew commercial with ‘Mai’ Davika Hoorne as the presenter and a roadshowtobuildpublic awareness andbringcashless payment experiences to provincial cities nationwide. SCB EASY PAY QR Codehasan edge over other services of itskindbecauseit sends a notification via SCB Connect on LINEmessaging app forevery payment transactionof any amount without a fee, making it thefirstandonlyservice inThailandto offer thisfeature. SCB is targeting at more than 500,000 QR code signups by the end of next year.
Mr. Thana Thienachariya, Senior Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officerat Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), said, “Thailand has witnessed rapid development in its payment systems over the past two years,driven by enthusiastic efforts of all stakeholdersincluding the government, BoT and private organizations. QR code payment is aplatform foreseen by SCB as the channel with a strong potential to change people’s life. The rise of digital technology is disruptive and will continue to usher in innovations. We can look forward to emergenceof unconventional market models such as customer to customer (C2C), customer to business (C2B), customer to machine (C2M), as well as sharing economyassist by implementations of Internet of Things (IoT). All of these models will make Nano-payments more convenient and cost-effective.”
“Paying for products and services via QR code is increasingly popular in China, which brings the country closer to a full-grown cashless society, thanks tobusiness superpowers, Alipay and WeChat Pay, who jumped in to lead the way,” he continued.“As for Thailand, SCB sees that the QR code standardization by BoT is an important step—an innovation that standardizes QR code and centralizes all the payment channels, compared to the old waywherevariations of QR codearegeneratedindifferent payment channels. Being standardized makes it convenient for buyers and sellersalike: regardless of which bank they have an account with, they can have a payment processed simply by scanning the QR code. This will be favorable to the economy overall and help trim down the country’s costs of payment systems and cash flow management. Moreover, the system is secure andminimizes the chance to mistype payment amounts or be victimized by card frauds.”
Mrs. Apiphan Charoenanusorn, Senior Executive Vice President and Head of Operations, Retail Products and Retail Payments at Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), added, “Since August, BoT has opened its regulatory sandbox for commercial banks to test their QR code payment service. SCB was among the firsts to join, and we prioritized being on ground to educate people through demonstration. We have covered five keycategories: shopping (Chatuchak Weekend Market, Siam Square, Platinum Fashion Mall, and MBK); universities (Kasetsart University and Thammasat University); transportation (motorcycle taxi ranks, public van ranks, and taxi ranks); markets (Samyan Market and Minburi Market); and temples (Wat San Phan Thai Norasing). Through the test period,we have created the most diverse ecosystemalong with a comprehensivesupport plan to expand the service to customers nationwide as soon as BoT grants us an approval to activate the service off the sandbox. At SCB, we believe that the ongoing development of financial technology keeps on endlessly to bring everyday convenience to people. The future trends will soon see automatic self-checkout in shopping malls and convenience stores using QR code,manlessshops,or even virtual shopping, for example. SCB will continue to introduce innovative financial services to address the needs of our customers all-around, in line with our objective to ‘be everything for all digital lifestyles’.”
In its most recent move,SCB is establishing astrong foothold in Thailand’s QR code paymentby launching ‘SCB EASY PAY – Mae Manee Money Solution’ campaign to build good perception, recognition, and popularity of SCB EASY PAY QR Code among its target users,including merchants and buyers. A winsome ‘Mae Manee’ figurine was characterized as the digital-generation‘nang kwak’ based on an insight into merchants surrounding a belief that this traditionalfigurinewill beckon customers in. To highlight the advantage that SCB EASY PAY QR Codehasover other QR payment services, the campaign also emphasizesfree notificationfor everypayment transaction of any amount via SCB Connect on LINEmessaging app, which makes it Thailand’s first and only service of this kindto offerLINE notification.
“As part of our 360° marketing communication campaign, a new commercial is being released with ‘Mai’ Davika Hoorne as the presenter to represent merchants and young-generation women whose lifestyles are led by a passion for shopping. Besides, the campaign will be on a roadshow across the nation, particularly major provincial cities, to pave way for the growing use nationwide. We have set a target to generate more than 500,000 QR codes by the end of 2018. In conclusion, we believe that the new campaign will meet the lifestyles of today’s consumers all-embracingly and keep SCB well-positioned to achieve its strategic vision to be ‘The Most Admired Bank’,” Mr. Thana concluded.