What is PromptPay and how to use it in Thailand

What is PromptPay in Thailand

PromptPay allows you to link a phone number to a bank account or an ID number (Thai analogue of a passport) to a bank account in order to receive money transfers. Money transfers are carried out without commissions, money is credited instantly. PromptPay is designed for the convenience of money transfers, as there is no need to remember the account number and bank name. In addition, PromptPay is often used to generate QR codes for payment – this method of payment and transfer of funds is supported by all online banking applications in Thailand.

See also: How to pay with QR codes in Thailand

Foreigners can also use PromptPay by linking a phone number to a bank account.

You can link up to three phone numbers to one bank account.

But a phone number can be linked to a particular account only once. If you want to link the phone number to another bank account, then you need to start by unlinking the number from the previous bank account.

You can enable PromptPay and link phone numbers to a bank account in the online banking mobile application, through an ATM, by contacting a bank branch, by phone and in other ways.

The rules provide for disconnecting the “de-registration” of the linked phone number from the bank account, but not all banks offer to do this through the application or ATMs – you may have to visit a bank branch to de-register in PromptPay.

So, PromptPay allows you to make bank money transfers by phone number and generate a QR code with the details of the recipient of the money. But it should be noted that some banks have their own system of transfers by phone number within the bank, which can be used without connecting to PromptPay, an example of such a bank is Bangkok Bank. And some banks allow you to create a QR code with the details of the recipient of money also without connecting to PromptPay, for example, this is implemented in Kasikorn Bank, which uses electronic wallets as details.

How to register in PromptPay

As already mentioned, you can register in several ways at once. You can link your phone number to PromptPay in the online banking app without leaving your home.

To confirm, you only need to enter a one-time password from SMS.

The following shows how to register a phone number with PromptPay in three mobile banking apps.

If you don't have your bank, please note that registering with PromptPay usually starts with one of the following steps:

1. Find the “PromptPay” item in the banking menu or settings.

2. Another way is to open “Scan” to scan QR codes, there is usually a button to generate your own QR code. Since it is usually (but not always!) required to register with PromptPay to create a QR code, you may be prompted to start by registering with PromptPay.

What is PayAlert and PromptPay International

After registering with PayAlert, other related services become available for registration and connection: PayAlert and PromptPay International.

• PayAlert is a service for receiving and sending notifications. You can enable (or disable) it during PromptPay registration or later in a separate menu. The essence of PayAlert is that you can send money transfer requests to you and receive money transfer requests. Please note that if the user is using PromptPay but has not activated the PayAlert feature, then you will not be able to send them a request using PayAlert.
• PromptPay International is a service for sending and receiving international money transfers. This service operates independently of PromptPay domestic transfers and disabling it does not affect PromptPay. Separately, you can enable/disable incoming and outgoing international transfers.

Step by step registration in PromptPay in Thai banks

See detailed instructions:

• How to register for PromptPay at Krungsri
• How to register for PromptPay at Kasikorn
• How to register for PromptPay at Bangkok Bank
• How to register for PromptPay at Siam Commercial Bank (SCB)

How to use PromptPay to receive money transfers

After registering with PromptPay, you can generate a QR code that can be used to easily transfer money to you.

See the article “How to pay with QR codes in Thailand” for details.

You do not need to use a QR code, to receive a money transfer you just need to provide the phone number linked to your bank account using PromptPay.

Things to remember when using PromptPay and QR codes

Even if you do not provide a phone number, but use a QR code to receive a money payment or transfer, the money sender still sees the following information about you:

• your phone number associated with PromptPay
• your first and last name

That is, if you make a QR code with information about payment via PromptPay public, then your phone number also becomes public.

PromptPay for advanced users and developers

There are several ready-made software for working with PromptPay QR codes, including for generating, validating and reading data.

Examples:

• pypromptpay (QR Code PromptPay in Python 3): https://github.com/wannaphong/pypromptpay. This program allows you to create QR codes for payment using PromptPay. You can create a QR code with or without a specified amount for the transfer, you can make the QR code one-time or reusable.
• PromptPay (Generate QRCode for Thai PromptPay): https://github.com/Frontware/promptpay
• ThaiQRReader (valid and parse data follow Thai Qr Standard): https://github.com/kiznick/ThaiQRReader

How to transfer money to a bank account in Thailand from abroad

Using cryptocurrency, you can make international money transfers with minimal commissions and at the most favorable (for you) exchange rates. Thanks to the anonymity of cryptocurrencies, you can transfer money from one country to another without going through validation. See the article for details: Alternative to LocalBitcoins: instructions for using LocalCoinSwap.com