The use of debit cards in Thailand is expected to take off, now that the largest bank in the country is offering its own Electron card.

 

Bangkok Bank's new card is being released today, under the brand name Be1st and BBL executives say it has huge potential both for customers and retailers.

 

Although Electron can be used in ATM machines, it is distinguished from other cards by being able to be used for direct purchases at retail outlets.

 

The card can be used, instead of cash, in any shop, restaurant, gas station or movie theatre or service provider which has an electronic Point-of-Sale terminal. There are approximately 40,000 POS terminals in Thailand and more than 8 million POS terminals worldwide.

 

Krip Rojanastien, Bangkok Bank Senior Vice President and Credit Card Division Manager, says once customers realize the convenience of the card, it will revolutionize their attitude to cash.

 

"It will mean they don't have to carry lots of money around with them, they won't have to worry about being caught short of cash and they won't be burdened with small change with every transaction."

 

"From the merchant's point of view, it will mean a wider pool of available customers and lower cash handling costs."

 

Mr. Krip says the convenience of Be1st is similar to that of a credit card but it is accessible to more people.

 

Only about 10 per cent of bank customers in Thailand have credit cards.

 

However Mr. Krip says: "Whoever is entitled to the citizen identification card and is a customer of the bank can have this card."

 

He predicts that the use of Be1st will outstrip the use of credit cards in department stores in the future.

 

Electron is a signature-based, electronic payment card, which transfers money from customers' accounts directly to the merchant when a sale is made.

 

There are now around 650,000 Electron cards on issue in Thailand. Electron transactions, for the three months to the end of December, came to just over Baht 300 million.

 

Now that Bangkok Bank is offering its Electron card, transactions are expected to rise dramatically. Visa is predicting that Electron sales figures will triple during the next six months.

 

Approximately 80 per cent of the transactions made with Electron cards currently in the market have been using ATM machines.

 

Mr. Krip says this shows the potential of Electron, as the debit card market has been largely untapped up to now.

 

"Neither customers nor merchants have realized yet just how valuable a debit card can be," says Mr. Krip. He adds: "Bangkok Bank intends to change this with an extensive public education campaign."

 

He says Be1st has a number of unique features