- Ms. Pimjai Tongmee, SCB's Payment Product Sales and Delivery Division Executive Vice President
- Mr. Panrob Kamla, President of Chaixi Bameekiao Co. Ltd
- Mr. Suripong Tantiyanon, Country Manager for Visa Thailand
"Siam Commercial Bank" (SCB) continues underlying its strength in the "SCB QR Payment Platform" as part of support for Thailand's transition to a cashless society with its latest collaboration with "Chaixi Bameekiao" and "Visa". In this partnership, SCB offers the country's most renowned egg noodle and wantons franchise with the most cutting-edge digital payment solution, which caters to all needs of the franchise owners and the franchise operators. Equipped with the "QR Payment Platform", the solution enables franchise operators to purchase utensils, equipment and ingredients from "Chaixi Bameekiao" without using cash while offering data management services for better development of business logistics. Apart from this, franchisees can enjoy the flexibility of SCB's revolving credit for micro merchants to create better business opportunities. The newly-launched solution also involves the partnership with Visa, world's leading advanced financial inclusion, to offer Thai spenders the "Scan to Pay" service, which pays the food bills at "Chaixi Bameekiao" via QR Code. Customers can also pay their bills using the "Virtual Credit Card" available for the first time to small ticket size business, aiming to enhance the cashless convenience for the micro merchant segment in Thailand. SCB is confident that this latest collaboration will create best digital experiences for the franchise owners, operators and customers. The company targets to increase the users of "SCB Mae Manee QRCode" up to 2 million within the end of 2019.
Ms. Pimjai Tongmee, SCB's Payment Product Sales and Delivery Division Executive Vice President, says: "Consumers' lifestyle in the digital age today has shifted rapidly, especially the growing needs for financial transaction on mobile phones and tablets. Service providers in different industries sections; therefore, turned to adapt in order to keep up with the changing demands. From operators of transport, hospitals and universities to those who run religious temples, especially for restaurant business, QR payment system has become their preferable method that gains more and more popularity."
"After the development of SCB's digital payment platform and the branding of 'SCB Mae Manee QRCode', coupled with our 'Total Business Solution' launched in partnership with food service operators about a year ago, we received great feedback for the SCB Mae Manee QRCode product. In order to continue cementing the strength of 'Siam Commercial Bank' in its digital financial expertise, and as a leader of digital payment systems, we are committed to push forward Thailand's transition to a 'Cashless Society' through our strategic policy to develop the infrastructure for digital service platforms aimed to enhance customers' experience in using SCB's QR Payment Platform conveniently. Recently, we have partnered up with 'Chaixi Bameekiao,' one of Thailand' most renowned street food franchise brands of egg noodle and wantons, and 'Visa,' a global innovator in payment system to offer unmatched cashless experiences, catering to discerning needs of franchise owners, operators and customers."
Street food is extremely popular among Thai people and tourists. According to "Wongnai" a celebrated food website and application stated that in 2017, there were more than 7,500,000 searches for menus, most of which were noodles. It reflected that noodle businesses continue their popularities among large amount of consumers in Thailand.
"The franchises of street food are another business segment with vast potential of growth. Therefore, Siam Commercial Bank strives to offer the 'Total Business Solution' as a business tool for small ticket size franchise operators. The solution enables convenience in management and efficiency with three key solutions to cater financial needs of franchise owners, operators and customers; including, 1) B2B Payment for franchise operators to purchase utensils, equipment and ingredients from 'Chaixi Bameekiao' via QR Code, 2) Data management System for franchise owners to utilize in the business analyses and further development, and 3) Cashless Payment using Virtual Credit Card by Visa (embedded in the SCB Easy Mobile App) first time in Thailand for the customers to settle their food bills at the street stalls through 'SCB Mae Manee QR Code' without any minimum amount. The solution helps enhance the digital lifestyle of modern consumers as well as connects the restaurants with customers directly. The other benefit of the 'Total Business Solution' is for SCB to better access information about each franchisee in terms of their financial status and activities. This will provide data for SCB to verify further credit offers for growing the business opportunities, such as revolving credit for business expansion and access to capital loans. With the new solution development that meets all financial needs of our customers, SCB plays a crucial part in creating the ecosystem for Thailand to become a true digital society. By the end of 2019, we target to increase the users of 'SCB Mae Manee QRCode' up to 2 million," Ms. Pimjai continues.
Mr. Panrob Kamla, President of Chaixi Bameekiao Co. Ltd, says: "Chaixi Bameekiao enjoys its top market share in Thailand in the noodle franchise category. We currently distribute our products to over 4,300 food carts nationwide. With our commitment in developing the business, we continue our strength by expanding our branches covering all parts of the country. In terms of network, we distribute our products through 100 routes from seven distribution centers in different regions to help increase the flexibility for our franchisees. With aims to maintain existing customer base while gaining new customer groups, the company has adjusted our marketing strategy this year to cater new lifestyle trends that emerged from changing consumers' behavior. This partnership with SCB and Visa is a great opportunity for us and for our franchise operators to obtain cutting-edge financial innovation to improve our financial management. The 'Total Business Solution' will enable ease and convenience, as well as create more opportunities for business expansion for our franchise partners looking for credit flexibility. The solution brings digital option for payment via its secure 'SCB Mae Manee QR Code' which is done easily using the Virtual Credit Card embedded in SCB EASY mobile App. Our franchise operators can now be worry-free from carrying a large amount of cash to settle bills, while customers at our Chaixi stalls can pay for their food conveniently. Such services will strengthen our brand and credibility, leveraging Chaixi Bameekiao's image to the next level in the restaurant industry."
Mr. Suripong Tantiyanon, Country Manager for Visa Thailand said: "the recent launch of Visa QR payments using credit cards are a result of collaboration between Visa and leading financial institutions in Thailand. It marks an important step towards transforming Thailand into a less-cash society. Consumers can select "Scan to Pay" menu in their banking applications and scan the Visa QR code followed by PIN number or finger print authentication. In addition to offering consumers with more ways to pay, it also provides merchants with a more cost-efficient option to accept electronic payments, especially for the micro merchant segments like Chaixi Bameekiao. According to Visa's Consumer Payment Attitudes Study, three in four (74 percent) Thai respondents are aware of QR as a payment method – the highest in Southeast Asia. Almost half (46 percent) indicated they would like to use it regularly. We also believe in providing incentives to further drive adoption and converting interest into actual usage. Visa has launched a lucky draw campaign running from October last year to 31 March 2019 giving scan-to-pay consumers a chance to win a grand prize of a Mercedes-Benz C250 Coup AMG Dynamic, worth 3,620,000 baht. Winner will be announced on 10 May 2019.