BANGKOK and SINGAPORE, Nov. 7, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and Liquid Group today announced a strategic partnership to enable cross-border QR payment acceptance in Singapore and Thailand. With the opening of the Singapore - Thailand corridor for QR payments, SCB will be acting as the sponsoring bank for all Thai banking applications that supports cross-border QR payments. Customers will be able to pay for their purchases using their respective Thai QR payment apps at Liquid Group's participating merchants in Singapore.
The partnership will allow both players to spearhead cross-border interoperability for QR payments between Thai Mobile Banking Applications and Liquid Group's vast network of regional payment apps. As the largest commercial bank in Thailand, SCB is a leader in digital lifestyle banking focused on innovation, technology and service development for the delivery of better customer experiences. In addition, it has a vast merchant base of approximately 1.0 million acceptance points across the country.
Liquid Group and SCB will support cross-border merchant-presented QR code payment transactions. Participating merchants in Singapore and Thailand also stand to generate additional revenue from the high volume of frequent travelers commuting between the two countries and their increased purchasing power, which is no longer limited to the amount of cash they carry, but linked to the available credit in their wallet drawing from their deposit accounts.
Liquid Group will also work with SCB to deliver additional innovative value-added services to their customers through its integrated cross-border payment and marketing platform for partners. It will allow partners to run marketing campaigns to promote awareness and usage of their apps amongst Thai consumers. Merchants in Singapore can also launch targeted campaigns for SCB customers, offering users of the SCB Easy app to enjoy exclusive promotions and deals.
Speaking about the collaboration, Siam Commercial Bank WB Future Platform, Global Transaction Banking Services Division First Senior Vice President Mr. Sopol Chattananant said that, "One of SCB's key business operation strategies is to have strong partners to create new capabilities to keep pace with drastic changes in consumer behavior around the world. Partnership with a QR payment service provider such as Liquid Group will propel the SCB Global Payment 2019 strategy to increase its potential and expand its scope of service. It will also help provide more opportunities and better access to real-time and seamless global payment experiences for Thai customers going abroad and foreigners coming to Thailand. In the initial stage, the service will enable Thai customers going to Singapore to use the SCB Easy Application and mobile banking applications of other banks with a cross-border payment feature to scan QR code for payments at shops located in Singapore's Changi Airport before expanding to other locations. In the next stage, the service will allow Singaporean visitors to make payments using QR scanning in Thailand. The Bank is confident that the partnership with Liquid Group will offer a real-time and seamless payment experience through a digital platform to truly meet the requirements of our mutual customers."
Jeremy Tan, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Liquid Group, said, "Thailand is a top tourist destination globally and partnering with SCB, the country's largest commercial bank, will offer a tremendous boost to our cross-border QR payment network. Furthermore, we are excited to team up with an innovative leader in digital banking like SCB, and believe the synergetic effect from our partnership will bring multiple benefits to our intra-regional travelers."
Further to its launch of a regional cross-border QR payment framework, Liquid Group has been conducting interoperability trials with its partner acquirers to extend their accepted payment modes to multiple participating QR payment apps from overseas issuers. It has progressively introduced a series of strategic partnerships with key players to spearhead the adoption of cross-border QR payments across multiple corridors originating from Singapore to Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan, and most recently, Thailand.
About Liquid Group
Liquid Group is a leading QR payment services group headquartered in Singapore, with a presence across the Asia-Pacific. It operates an open API based QR payment acceptance network that enables the cross-border acceptance of bank and non-bank QR payment apps across multiple markets in the region. By spearheading the largest cross-border interoperability framework, Liquid Group is an industry leader in the creation of a more connected and robust mobile payment ecosystem for all.
About Siam Commercial Bank
The Siam Commercial Bank PCL (SCB) was established by Royal Charter in 1906 as the first Thai bank and is one of Thailand's leading universal banks. As of March 2019, SCB's total market capitalization was THB 449 Bn and the Bank was Thailand's largest commercial bank in terms of total assets (THB 3,200 Bn). Its network of branches and service points offers nationwide coverage. SCB is committed to becoming Thailand's "Most Admired Bank" and a leader in shaping the future of Thailand's banking industry by balancing value propositions for all stakeholders - customers, employees, shareholders, regulators, and society. More information is available on the Bank's website at www.scb.co.th
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