Thailand is one of Southeast Asia’s most mature mobile payment markets. Everyday payments, from street food to e-commerce, increasingly run through mobile banking apps rather than cards or cash. Among these apps, K PLUS plays a central role for millions of local consumers.
For international merchants, K PLUS often appears on payment method lists without much explanation. Is it a wallet, a bank transfer, or something else entirely? Do you need a KBank account or card to accept it? And what does acceptance really involve from an operational perspective?
What is K PLUS?
K PLUS is the consumer mobile banking app operated by Kasikorn Bank or KBank, one of Thailand’s largest commercial banks. Thai consumers use K PLUS for daily digital banking tasks, including account management, transfers, bill payments, and QR-based payments.
From a payments perspective, K PLUS functions as a mobile banking interface rather than a standalone wallet scheme. Payments typically move directly from a customer’s KBank account or card to the merchant through Thailand’s domestic payment rails.
Why K PLUS matters to merchants
K PLUS sits at the centre of Thailand’s cashless behaviour. Many customers expect to pay by scanning a QR code inside their banking app instead of entering card details or completing manual bank transfers. Supporting QR-based payments that K PLUS users can complete helps reduce checkout hesitation for Thai customers.
Quick market context
- K PLUS had around 23.1 million users by the end of 2024, representing a significant share of Thailand’s mobile banking population.
- Thailand has invested heavily in national payment infrastructure, with QR payments and real-time transfers now common across consumer and merchant transactions.
- Most K PLUS payments rely on national standards rather than proprietary rails, which affects how merchants enable acceptance.
K PLUS in Thailand’s payment landscape
Most K PLUS payments rely on PromptPay and Thai QR Code standards. PromptPay is Thailand’s national real-time payment system. It allows transfers using simple identifiers such as a mobile phone number, national ID, or QR code.
Thai QR Code is the national QR standard built on top of this infrastructure. Merchants display a QR code, and customers scan it using their preferred banking app, including K PLUS. The same QR can usually be paid with multiple Thai banking apps, not just K PLUS.
For merchants, this means acceptance is driven by QR compatibility with PromptPay and Thai QR Code standards, rather than by a direct technical connection to K PLUS itself.
What this means for merchants:
- Customers commonly pay by scanning a merchant-presented QR code.
- The payment experience looks similar across Thai banking apps.
- Settlement and reporting depend on the bank or payment service provider (PSP) that issued the merchant QR.
Key K PLUS payment behaviours merchants should understand
Thai customers using K PLUS typically follow a few common payment patterns.
Scan-to-pay for in-store purchases
In physical stores, customers scan a merchant’s QR code displayed at the counter or terminal. They confirm the amount in K PLUS and authorise the payment from their KBank account or linked card.
Account-based transfers
In some scenarios, customers may pay using account or phone-number-based transfers supported by PromptPay. This is more common for invoices, services, or peer-to-merchant payments than for retail checkout.
Bill payment and reference-based flows
Certain businesses use bill payment or invoice-style flows, where the customer confirms a payment with a reference or predefined amount inside the app. Availability depends on the merchant’s setup with their bank or provider.
Common K PLUS acceptance scenarios
In-store acceptance via QR
A typical in-store flow looks like this:
- The merchant displays a Thai QR or PromptPay QR code.
- The customer scans the code using K PLUS.
- The customer reviews the amount and confirms payment.
- The merchant receives confirmation according to their bank or provider setup.
To support this flow, merchants usually need:
- A merchant QR issued by a bank or payment service provider
- A way to confirm payment status at the point of sale
- Reconciliation tools such as daily statements or transaction references
Online K PLUS payment flow for e-commerce
Online acceptance varies by provider, but common models include:
- Redirecting customers to a payment page showing a QR code
- Asking customers to scan the QR with K PLUS or complete a PromptPay-based action
- Receiving payment confirmation through callbacks or notifications
Key considerations for online merchants include how you handle pending versus paid states when customers delay completing a payment. You also need clear timeouts and retry logic so abandoned orders do not remain open indefinitely.
Overpayments, underpayments, and duplicate attempts can still occur when customers scan or submit payments more than once, so your reconciliation and support flows should account for these cases.
K PLUS merchant app ecosystem
Kasikorn Bank offers merchant-facing tools such as K SHOP and K PLUS SHOP. These apps typically support QR acceptance, payment tracking, and basic reporting. For many small and domestic merchants, these apps form the operational layer for QR payments.
For international merchants, similar functionality is often provided through banks or PSP dashboards rather than directly through these apps.
Benefits of enabling K PLUS-friendly payments
Supporting payments that K PLUS users can complete offers several practical advantages.
- Broader coverage: You reach customers who prefer mobile banking QR payments over cards or cash, particularly in domestic Thai transactions.
- Faster checkout experience: QR payments often complete faster than manual bank transfer instructions, especially for in-store or mobile-first journeys.
- Reduced hardware dependency: QR acceptance can reduce reliance on card terminals in some environments, particularly for pop-up stores or service locations.
- Interoperability: Because Thai QR and PromptPay standards are shared, one QR setup can support multiple Thai banking apps, not only K PLUS.
How to start accepting K PLUS payments
Choose your acceptance path
Merchants generally choose between:
- Direct bank relationships in Thailand
- Payment service providers that support Thai QR and PromptPay
Global merchants often prefer PSPs because they offer one integration with access to multiple local payment methods, consolidated reporting, and clearer settlement processes.
Merchant requirements to prepare
Before onboarding, you are usually asked to provide:
- Business registration details
- Tax or VAT information where applicable
- Settlement account details
- Store or website information for risk review
Compliance checks follow local KYC and KYB expectations.
Integration and go-live checklist
- Displaying QR or K PLUS-compatible options clearly in checkout
- Handling success, failure, and pending states correctly
- Verifying webhook or callback reliability
- Capturing order IDs and transaction references for reconciliation
- Defining refund and adjustment processes
Operational setup for scale
As volumes grow, merchants should plan for how settlement schedules and cutoff times affect cash flow and reporting. Payout currency choices and FX handling also become more visible at scale, particularly for cross-border businesses.
Reliable daily reporting and matching logic help finance teams stay on top of incoming funds, while clear processes for unmatched or delayed payments reduce manual follow-up and support overhead.
Can international merchants accept K PLUS?
International merchants usually do not open K PLUS accounts themselves. K PLUS is a consumer digital banking app intended for individual and domestic business users.
In practice, international merchants accept K PLUS payments by enabling Thai QR or PromptPay-based payment rails through a PSP or local acquiring partner.
Common operating models
A local entity in Thailand with domestic settlement is often the most straightforward model for merchants with an established presence in the market. Payments settle locally in Thai baht, reporting aligns closely with domestic accounting practices, and refund handling is usually simpler because funds remain within Thailand’s banking system.
A non-resident merchant using a PSP that provides local collection and cross-border settlement is more common for international businesses testing demand or operating without a Thai legal entity. In this setup, the PSP collects funds locally through Thai QR or PromptPay rails and then settles to the merchant overseas, typically in a major foreign currency. This model reduces the need for local incorporation but adds considerations around FX, settlement timing, and reporting detail.
Questions to ask providers
When evaluating PSPs, a few targeted questions can help you avoid surprises later.
- Ask whether they support Thai QR or PromptPay payments that K PLUS users can complete. This confirms that your acceptance method aligns with how K PLUS customers actually pay, rather than relying on indirect or unsupported flows.
- Clarify what settlement currencies and FX terms are available. Understanding where funds land, how often they settle, and how FX is applied helps finance teams forecast cash flow and assess total costs.
- Discuss how refunds and dispute-like issues work. Since K PLUS payments do not follow card chargeback rules, you need clarity on refund initiation, timing, and customer communication responsibilities.
- Confirm what compliance checks apply to international merchants. This sets expectations around onboarding timelines, documentation requirements, and any restrictions that could affect your business model.
Tips to reduce friction for Thai customers
- Use clear, localised payment instructions
- Explain what to do if a payment remains pending
- Provide Thai-language support content for payment steps where possible
- Show real-time payment confirmation when available
K PLUS limitations and considerations
K PLUS payments differ from card payments in several ways.
- They are not card scheme transactions and do not follow card chargeback rules.
- Usage is concentrated among Thailand-based banking customers.
- Transfer and payment limits, including KBank credit limit rules, can affect higher-value purchases.
- Refunds depend on the underlying rail and customer behaviour.
- Edge cases include pending payments, duplicate scans, and partial payments.
Understanding these constraints helps merchants design clearer payment flows and support processes.
Conclusion
K PLUS is a core part of Thailand’s digital banking and QR payment environment. For merchants, acceptance is less about integrating a specific app, but rather supporting the national payment standards that Thai customers already use every day.
With the right setup, K PLUS-friendly payments can sit alongside cards and other local methods as part of a broader Thailand strategy. Providers such as Antom can support access to these local rails through a single integration, helping international merchants operate with clarity and consistency across markets.
