Thailand's payment market: Things you may not know

Key insights

• 66.9% of Thai consumers shop online every week, the highest in the Asia-Pacific region, and 92% shopped online in the last six months.
• Bank transfers are the most popular payment method, followed by digital wallets.
• Thai consumers spend the most on consumer electronics and are most interested in clothing.
• The biggest hurdle to online shopping for Thai consumers is trust in payment methods.
• The preferred shopping experience for Thai consumers is self-checkout.
• Two-thirds of online purchases are made via mobile devices.

Thailand overview

Thailand is the fourth most populous country in ASEAN, with a population of approximately 71.6 million. The population is largely middle-aged, with 43% of the people aged between 25 and 54. The primary language spoken is Thai, and English proficiency is relatively low.

As the second-largest economy in Southeast Asia, Thailand has a GDP exceeding $500 billion, a 2.7% growth from 2024. The e-commerce market also boasts a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11%.

96% of Thais have a bank deposit account, and 11% are credit card users.

Let’s take a look at its economic landscape.

Economic overview of Thailand

69.27% of Thailand's population is aged 15 to 64, representing the main consumer group. The unemployment rate is relatively low, at only 0.91%. The service industry is undoubtedly Thailand's dominant sector, accounting for 56.19% of the economy.

Thailand's imports overview

In addition, Thailand is a major goods importer, as shown in the data below:

In 2023, Thailand's goods imports reached $28.975 billion, with manufactured goods making up the largest portion, totalling $19.25 billion.

To understand Thailand’s payment landscape, it’s key to pay attention to consumer trends that drive purchase patterns, shopping habits, payment preferences and more.

Consumer trends in Thailand

First, let's examine Thailand's household income and expenditure:

In the first half of 2023, the average monthly household income was THB 29,502 (USD $908), with wages and salaries making up the largest share at 43.8%. In terms of expenditure, food and non-alcoholic beverages ranked first, accounting for 33.7%.

Now, let's take a look at its current physical retail and e-commerce landscape.

According to Euromonitor International, it is expected that Thailand's retail industry will grow by 8% in 2024 compared to 2023, with e-commerce projected to grow by 16%.

Physical retail

As one of Southeast Asia's key economies, Thailand’s offline retail market shows no sign of slowing down, with malls and shopping centres dominating the shopping landscape. According to a report by the Economic Intelligence Center of the Siam Commercial Bank, the retail sales of physical stores are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by 2024, driven by economic and consumption recovery, while online retail sales will continue to grow.

E-commerce

Thailand is the second-largest e-commerce market in Southeast Asia, with a Gross Merchandise Value (GMV) of $22 billion. By 2025, Thailand's e-commerce market is expected to achieve a CAGR of 13%. Additionally, the Digital 2023: Thailand report by media companies We Are Social and Meltwater noted that in 2022, 65.9% of consumer goods purchased through e-commerce platforms were ordered via mobile phones.

In 2023, the number of online shoppers in Thailand reached 15.15 million, and according to Statista, this number is expected to grow to 17.59 million by 2025, representing a 16% increase.

In 2023, the average e-commerce spending per user in Thailand reached THB14,000, and according to Bain & Company's forecast. By 2025, the GMV of Thailand's e-commerce market is expected to exceed $3 billion.

Notably, Thailand tops the Asia-Pacific region in terms of the percentage of weekly online shoppers:

With such a strong preference for online shopping, what kind of e-commerce activities are Thai people engaging in every week? See the chart below:

Curious what Thai shoppers are buying, and how their purchase journeys are like? See the chart below:

The top three products Thai consumers spend the most online are electronics, food, and beverages. The most frequently purchased items are clothing, shoes, and cosmetics and personal care products. Additionally, 58% of Thai consumers believe reviews are important, and 47% will search online before making a major purchase. Clearly, this is a group of highly sophisticated online shoppers.

What can businesses do to make these shoppers spend more online? And what factors might hinder their online shopping? Let’s take a look.

As shown, coupons and discounts are still highly effective and are the main drivers for Thai consumers to complete their purchases. The biggest factor hindering online purchases in Thailand is trust in payment methods, with 39.29% of Thai consumers citing this as a barrier to their online shopping.

Now that we have a better understanding of Thai consumers' spending preferences and consumption patterns, you might be curious – apart from online shopping – how are their digital habits? Do their lives also centre around the digital world?

Digital behaviour

Thailand boasts a generation of tech-savvy, mobile-centric digital natives. The country ranks among the leaders in global digital adoption. According to DataReportal, Thailand's mobile device penetration rate was 133% in 2019, and by early 2023, it had increased to 141%, with the total number of active mobile phone connections reaching around 101.2 million. This is one of the reasons for a high level of digital payment acceptance among the Thai population.

According to Statista, Thailand's internet penetration rate has been increasing since 2020 and reached 98% by 2024. With so many internet users, what exactly are they doing online?

As shown in the chart above, like the majority of internet users worldwide, Thai people primarily use the internet to find information, watch videos, and play games. So, how much time do they spend online?

As shown in the chart above, Thai people spend an average of 7.58 hours online each day. Among different age groups, Generation Y (ages 19-38) spends the most time online, averaging 8.55 hours per day.

With such a large digital population, what is their digital payment or e-payment usage like?

80% of Thais indicated that they use e-payments. The main use is for online shopping, followed by in-store purchases and transfers to friends and family. 

The state of payments in Thailand

Currently, Thailand is one of the largest real-time payment (RTP) markets globally. By 2023, the number of digital payment users in Thailand has reached 30 million, and it is expected to reach 36 million by 2025.

According to PPRO data for 2023, bank transfers are currently the most widely used payment method, accounting for 42% of all transactions. The market share of different payment methods in Thailand is shown below:

How well do Thai merchants support the different payment methods? Let's find out:

According to a survey by IDC, 79% of Thai merchants accept card payments, followed by payment on delivery and over-the-counter payments. 

How about their payment preferences online? We saw in the previous section, that Thai consumers use e-payments mainly for online shopping. So, what is the share of different payment methods in e-commerce?

Bank transfers are used by 32% of Thai e-commerce users , making it the most popular payment method in Thailand. This is followed by card payments and digital wallets.

“Digital Thailand”: The reason behind Thailand's rapid e-payment development

Since 2016, the Thai government has been promoting the digital economy and social development plan, releasing the National E-payment Master Plan, aimed at transforming the country into a "Digital Thailand." This transformation is referred to as the Thailand 4.0 revolution.

What measures are being taken?

• Introduction of the PromptPay system, allowing transactions using national ID and/or phone numbers
• Expansion of the Electronic Data Capture (EDC) network to reduce cash transactions
• Digitisation of the tax system
• Establishment of a national e-payment system to optimise welfare distribution
• Promotion of e-payment systems

To align with the National E-payment Master Plan, the Bank of Thailand (Thailand’s central bank) has developed a payment system roadmap, aiming to make digital payments the preferred choice for Thai people.

Next, let's take a closer look at different payment methods, such as bank transfers, digital wallets, cards and cash.

Bank transfers

In Thailand, bank transfers primarily use the PromptPay system, a nationwide remittance and e-payment system launched in 2017. With this system, users only need to provide their national ID number or phone number to make payments. Today, PromptPay is Thailand's leading digital payment method, with 67 million registered users as of 2023.

In 2023, the value of mobile banking transactions in Thailand was approximately THB 71.07 trillion, a steady increase from the previous year. Among this, PromptPay transactions accounted for about THB 47.42 trillion of the transactions.

Digital wallets

Digital wallets were the second most commonly used payment method in e-commerce and POS transactions. According to Statista's report on payment methods at point-of-sale (POS) in Thailand, the market share of digital wallets surged from 2% in 2017 to 22% in 2023. Additionally, digital wallets accounted for 25% of the total e-commerce transaction volume.

The user base for digital wallets reached 15 million in 2020, representing 21% of Thailand's population.

And by 2023, the number of digital wallet accounts in Thailand increased multi-fold to approximately 116.5 million. The total transaction value via e-wallets in Thailand in 2023 was about THB 713.4 billion. The details are shown in the chart below.

Furthermore, according to IDC InfoBrief 2023, digital wallet payments are predicted to account for 29% of all e-commerce payments in Thailand by 2028.

With so many digital wallets available in Thailand now, what is their share of the market?

TrueMoney leads the market with a 52.6% share, far ahead of competitors like Rabbit LINE Pay and ShopeePay.

Cards

Cards are divided into credit cards and debit cards.

Credit cards remain the dominant payment method in Thailand, despite the relatively low penetration rate of credit cards. The average number of debit cards per person is just 0.77, while that of credit cards per person is 0.29. According to a report by GlobalData, consumer preference for credit and debit cards mainly comes from the rewards and benefits they offer, such as discounts, cashback, and instalment payment options.

In Thailand, credit cards are not only a convenient payment tool but also an effective source of short-term credit. Many leading financial institutions offer instalment plans to cardholders, often at near-zero interest rates.

The major credit cards used in Thailand are Visa and Mastercard:

The value of credit card payment transactions made in Thailand amounted to THB 2.32 trillion, while that of debit card payment transactions was approximately THB 238 billion.

Others

Besides the three main payment methods in Thailand – bank transfers, digital wallets, and cards – other payment methods like Buy Now, Pay Later and cash are also used by Thai consumers.

• Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL)

BNPL is fast gaining popularity in Thailand. It is expected to grow by 92.1% in 2022, reaching $1.715 billion. According to IBS Intelligence, by 2028, the GMV for BNPL in Thailand is projected to reach $16.5299 billion.

BNPL is particularly attractive to young people in Thailand because BNPL instalment plans are interest-free and do not require a credit card. This allows consumers to pay for their purchases in smaller, manageable monthly installments, offering greater flexibility.

• Cash

Cash has long been the dominant payment method in Thailand. In 2022, cash transactions accounted for half of all POS payments, a 7% decrease compared to the previous year. Despite the decline, Thailand's share of cash usage remains one of the highest in Asia. While cash remains a preferred method for many Thai people, the government has taken steps to drive the country toward a more digital future.

Having covered the details of various payment methods, let's now look ahead at Thailand’s payment trends and future developments.

Payment trends and future development

According to IDC's 2024 research on Southeast Asia’s payment landscape, the following payment trends have emerged in Thailand over the past 12 months:

BNPL: Thai merchants have noticed that the increasing popularity of BNPL, and especially since credit cards are not widely used in Thailand, this payment option has become particularly attractive.

Cryptocurrency: Despite legal restrictions on cryptocurrency payments, people remain very interested in this payment method.

Contactless payments: The rise in contactless payments indicates that Thailand is quickly moving away from cash transactions, which is very important for merchants' future plans.

The research also found that merchants consider the following payment methods crucial for the future:

• Contactless payments, voice payments, and cross-border payment solutions are key areas for future development.
• Thailand's contactless payment market has significant room for growth. According to IDC data, in 2023, only 55% of POS terminals in Thailand supported NFC payments, far below Malaysia's 93% and Singapore's 95%. Therefore, developing payment systems that support NFC is valuable for merchants.
• Given that Thailand is a popular tourist destination, investing in cross-border payment solutions can help reduce transaction barriers for international customers, ultimately boosting sales.

Antom in Thailand

Choosing Antom as your payment partner in Thailand

Antom offers comprehensive end-to-end payment acquiring in Thailand:

• One single integration to accept 99% of payment methods in the Thai market.
• Simple and fast integration process with multiple integration options to choose from, depending on your business needs.
• In-depth knowledge of the Thai market and industries, providing tailored solutions for every merchant’s needs.

Antom’s full suite of payment solutions, products and services for businesses in Thailand

Suitable for all business types, Antom’s payment platform is designed to cater to the needs of Thai merchants and consumers. From solutions to ensure seamless checkouts to value-added services like anti-fraud and risk management as well as Antom Payment Orchestration and Revenue Booster to continually optimise revenue, Antom makes doing business easier in Thailand.

Why partner with Antom

In today's highly competitive market, choosing the right partner is key to business success. Partnering with Antom not only brings numerous advantages to your company but also provides comprehensive support for your business operations. Here are some of the key benefits of working with Antom:

1. Quick market penetration

Antom’s global presence and extensive solution and partner network provides businesses the strategic advantage to quickly win over consumers, particularly in key global markets. Beyond just payments, we work closely with merchants, through in-depth market analysis and flexible strategic planning, ensuring merchants increase a broader target audience, brand visibility and market share quicker. Whether you're an emerging business or an established brand expanding into a new market, Antom can help accelerate your market penetration.

2. Industry-tailored solutions

Each industry has its unique needs and challenges. Antom provides tailored solutions for specific industries, helping businesses improve operational efficiency and market competitiveness, and supporting businesses in achieving sustainable growth. Not only can you cater to the current needs of your end customers, but also anticipate future trends, ensuring your business remains ahead of the curve.

3. Safe and reliable technology and risk control

Financial security and risk management are among the top priorities for businesses. Antom leverages the latest in tech including AI and machine learning to offer the best-in-class secure and dependable solutions best suited for your business.. Our anti-fraud and risk management system is rigorously tested, ensuring transparency and reliability in all transactions. Additionally, our fund management strategies are carefully designed to minimise risks and safeguard your financial security, so you can grow your business with peace of mind.

4. High-quality, personalized concierge service

In partnership with Antom, clients will experience unparalleled service. Our team not only provides expert consulting support but also offers comprehensive follow-up services. Our goal is to be the most trusted partner for our clients, providing home-like care and support throughout the partnership.

5. Rich local market experience

Antom has extensive market experience in various regions. Our team understands the local market operations and cultural nuances, enabling us to provide market strategies that drive positive business results. This deep local expertise allows us to help clients quickly adapt and integrate into new markets, minimising entry barriers and ensuring successful development in different market environments.

Contact us today

By choosing Antom for your business expansion, you’re also choosing a dependable partner to gain access to latest business solutions and comprehensive all-round support to grow your business.

Antom is committed to driving maximum impact and results for our merchants through fast market penetration, industry-tailored solutions, robust security, comprehensive support, and rich market experience.

Contact us by submitting the form below, and we’ll be in touch shortly.