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 insight inspired characterization of ‘Mae Manee’ as digital-generation version of ‘nang kwak’ to win in the favor of merchants nationwide.
Bangkok (November 9, 2017) – SCB continues to oil the wheels of the national e-payment scheme as a vehicle destined for cashless society by bringing real-life experiences to people in regulatory sandbox of the Bank of Thailand (BoT). With today’s launch of ‘SCB EASY PAY – Mae Manee Money Solution’ campaign, the bank is securing a new beachhead in QR code payment. The new campaign will build good perception, recognition, and popularity of SCB EASY PAY QR Code among its target users with help of ‘Mae Manee’, a character based on an insight into merchants to serve as ‘nang kwak’ beckoning figurine of the Digital Age. Its integrated marketing communication highlights a new commercial with ‘Mai’ Davika Hoorne as the presenter and a roadshow to build public awareness and bring cashless payment experiences to provincial cities nationwide. SCB EASY PAY QR Code has an edge over other services of its kind because it sends a notification via SCB Connect on LINE messaging app for every payment transaction of any amount without a fee, making it the first and only service in Thailand to offer this feature. 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 Officer at 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 stakeholders including the government, BoT and private organizations. QR code payment is a platform 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 emergence of unconventional market models such as customer to customer (C2C), customer to business (C2B), customer to machine (C2M), as well as sharing economy assist 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 to business 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 way where variations of QR code are generated in different payment channels. Being standardized makes it convenient for buyers and sellers alike: 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 and minimizes 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 key categories: 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 ecosystem along with a comprehensive support 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, manless shops, 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 a strong foothold in Thailand’s QR code payment by 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 traditional figurine will beckon customers in. To highlight the advantage that SCB EASY PAY QR Code has over other QR payment services, the campaign also emphasizes free notification for every payment transaction of any amount via SCB Connect on LINE messaging app, which makes it Thailand’s first and only service of this kind to offer LINE 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.
