KTC Urges Thai SMEs to Adopt Digital Payments for Foreign Tourists

MGR Online•Economy•2d ago

Reader Briefing

KTC highlights a 20% growth in spending by foreign tourists via digital payments and encourages Thai SMEs to adopt these systems to capture more revenue.

•Visa's Thailand Travel Pulse 2026 report shows cross-border Visa spending in Thailand grew by 14% year-on-year.
•Repeat visitors account for 20% of cardholders but generate 34% of inbound spending.
•In 2024, cash remained the primary payment method for foreign tourists in Thailand at 78%.
•KTC reported that foreign customer spending via digital payments grew by 20% in the first half of 2026.

Overview

•Visa's Thailand Travel Pulse 2026 report indicates cross-border Visa spending in Thailand increased by 14% from the previous year.
•Data from the Bank of Thailand and Visa shows that in 2024, 78% of foreign tourist spending in Thailand was in cash, while cards accounted for 20% and e-Money 2%.
•The Visa Global Travel Intentions Study found 81% of tourists worry about payments before visiting Thailand and 58% experienced actual payment issues.
•Naowarat Keeratikasemsuk stated that in the first half of 2026, digital payment spending at KTC member stores grew by 7%, while foreign customer spending grew by 20%.
•KTC suggests SMEs adopt tools such as Contactless Payment, Alipay+, Link Pay, and installment services to reduce purchase barriers for foreign tourists.
•Thailand was selected as the first market in the Asia-Pacific region for the Visa Destinations project.
•Naowarat Keeratikasemsuk claims payment readiness is a key factor for SMEs to efficiently access global tourist purchasing power.

Full article content is available on the original source.

Read on MGR Online (Thai Version)View in Google Translate

Source: MGR Online (Original)

View Original Article

Key Quotes

Naowarat Keeratikasemsuk

"Payment readiness is not just about transactions, but is part of the customer experience and a factor that helps SMEs access purchasing power from global tourists more efficiently."

ความพร้อมในการรับชำระเงินจึงไม่ใช่เพียงเรื่องของธุรกรรม แต่เป็นส่วนหนึ่งของประสบการณ์ลูกค้า และเป็นปัจจัยที่ช่วยให้ SME เข้าถึงกำลังซื้อจากนักท่องเที่ยวทั่วโลกได้อย่างมีประสิทธิภาพมากขึ้น

Key Entities

Organization

KTC(เคทีซี)

A company that manages member stores and promotes digital payment adoption for SMEs.

Krungthai Card Public Company Limited(บริษัท บัตรกรุงไทย จำกัด (มหาชน))

The full corporate name of KTC.

Visa

A global payment provider that produced the Thailand Travel Pulse 2026 report and the Visa Destinations project.

Bank of Thailand(ธนาคารแห่งประเทศไทย)ℹ️

A government entity that co-produced the report on tourist payment behaviors with Visa.

Alipay+

A digital payment channel recommended by KTC for foreign tourists.

Person

Naowarat Keeratikasemsuk(เนาวรัตน์ กีรติเกษมสุข)

The highest executive of the Member Store Management Department at KTC.

Place

Thailand(ประเทศไทย)ℹ️

The destination country for global travelers and the first Asia-Pacific market for Visa Destinations.

Policy

Visa Destinations

A project by Visa aimed at creating an ecosystem to help travelers access local businesses.