Reinforcing its status as the country's number-one digital banking service provider and given the popularity of social commerce in Thailand, KBank has become the first bank in Thailand to debut a seamless payment experience using Facebook Messenger. Through'Pay with K PLUS', buyers can make payment instantly on Messenger, eliminating the need to enter an account number or switch screens when conductingthe transaction, while sellers are able to close deals with ease. This initiative is in response to the fast-growing social commerce market, which has already topped 137 billion Baht (Source: Value of e-Commerce Survey in Thailand 2017, ETDA – Electronic, Transactions Development Agency). KBank has seta target of transactions via the Pay with K PLUS service to be 30 Billion Baht within one year.
Mr. Patchara Samalapa, President of KASIKORNBANK, said that the 'Pay with K PLUS' service reinforces the company's commitment to develop digital payment for enhanced convenience, speed and ease of payment transactions. In addition, the service will help retail clients and small business operators, remain competitive as online trade in Thailand is mainly conducted via social media – from introduction to products to payment.
"The Pay with K PLUS service is the first of its kind offered by KBank in Thailand and integrated on Messenger to provide people with a seamless online payment experience. Buyers simply tap the Pay with K PLUS button, and they can make payments with enhanced convenience and security, with no need to switch screens to open the payment application."
"Currently, K PLUS has more than 8.4 million users and the number of fund transfer surged 88 percent after the No Fee campaign. While 1.4 million merchants use K PLUS SHOP QR Codes, with 4 billion baht transaction. The new service will help our customers facilitate the online payment and expand trade on social media platforms like Facebook. Given a large customer base and this payment service innovation, transactions via Pay with K PLUS are set to rise further," said Mr. Patchara.
To promote the launch of the Pay with K PLUS service, customers making their first purchases of more than 300 Baht via Pay with K PLUS are entitled to 100 Baht cash back from now until September 25, 2018. Online merchants who have KBank account and accept a payment via 'Pay with K PLUS' service, are eligible to receive bonus up to the maximum of 5,000 baht from now until July 31, 2018.
"SMEs in Thailand are building businesses through conversational commerce on Facebook and Messenger. For instance, Thailand is the topcountry in APAC and one of the top five countries globally where people send the most messages to businesses on Messenger. We are committed tohelping enable SMEs to thrive online, and grow their businesses to serve more consumers in the Kingdom. Today's bank transfer solution with KBank willenable SMEs to close sales faster, and engage their customers more efficiently on Facebook," concluded Ms. Natapa Phruthisaranphong, Product Marketing Manager of Facebook, APAC Business Platform and Messaging.
KBank has started offering loans to SME customers via K PLUS. The customer will receive a notification on 'Life PLUS' menu and can enter the amounts that they want to borrow, and the system will show their credit limits. After the customers click to receive loans, the funds will be wired to their accounts immediately.