Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System to be accepted in Thailand under reciprocal arrangement

Hongkongers travelling to Thailand can now use Faster Payment System to make purchases, while Thais travelling to Hong Kong can pay using PromptPay

Plans are afoot to raise the maximum daily limit in future depending on the utilisation situation

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This photo taken on November 18, 2023 shows visitors walking in the Old Town in the southern Thai island of Phuket. Photo:AFP

Published: 8:39pm, 30 Nov 2023

Tourists from Hong Kong and Thailand travelling between the two countries will now be able to use their domestic real-time settlement payment systems to pay for their purchases, as authorities seek to speed up digital transformation and increase business opportunities for local vendors.

Starting next Monday, Hongkongers travelling to Thailand will be able to use their smartphones to make payments for shopping and food through the Faster Payment System (FPS) up to a daily limit of HK$10,000 (US$1,280). Reciprocally, Thais travelling to the city will be able to use PromptPay, at merchants that accept QR code payments, with a 500,000 baht (US$14,200) daily limit under an agreement between the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) and the Bank of Thailand.

These systems, which link traditional banks and electronic payment and digital wallet operators, will allow visitors to make cross-border retail payments in a quick and user-friendly way, bankers said.

There are plans to raise the maximum daily limit in future depending on the utilisation situation, Howard Lee, deputy chief executive of Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), said on Thursday.

Tourists dressed in Thai traditional costumes rented from a clothing rental shop visit Wat Arun or Temple of Dawn in Bangkok, Thailand.Photo: EPA-EFE

Thailand is among the most popular tourist destinations for Hong Kong residents, and has extensive experience in cross-border linkages of faster payment systems, Lee said.