Key Facts for Thailand
- Primary real-time rails: PromptPay, BAHTNET, PromptBiz.
- Typical settlement times: Maximum 60 seconds.
- Common limits: Varies by institution.
What “real-time payments” means in Thailand
In Thailand, real-time payments refer to electronic fund transfers where the message and final funds are available to the payee almost instantly, operating 24/7. The primary system, PromptPay, facilitates these transactions using simple identifiers like mobile numbers or citizen IDs. Its scope is extensive, covering everything from individual transfers and e-commerce—where it was the leading online payment method in 2022—to government welfare disbursements. While the Payment System Act of 2017 provides the regulatory framework, it does not offer a specific legal definition for "real-time payments," instead focusing on operational oversight.
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) is the lead regulator, overseeing the country's payment systems. The main operator for PromptPay is National ITMX, a consortium owned by local commercial banks. National ITMX also functions as the primary clearing house, with final interbank settlement occurring via the BOT’s own real-time gross settlement system, BAHTNET. For messaging, PromptPay’s internal switch uses the ISO 20022 standard, a global benchmark for financial data. An adaptor translates messages from the ISO 8583 format still used by many member banks, ensuring system-wide interoperability.
With its high adoption and advanced features, Thailand’s PromptPay system is often cited as a leading example for both developing and developed economies worldwide.
Payment Rail Overview
PromptPay
Launched in 2016, PromptPay is Thailand's dominant real-time payment service, allowing instant money transfers using simple identifiers like a mobile number or national ID. It operates 24/7 and connects bank accounts and e-wallets, forming the backbone of the country's digital payment ecosystem. The system supports a vast array of transactions, from peer-to-peer transfers to government disbursements and merchant payments.
- Aliases: Users can link their bank account to a mobile number, citizen ID, or corporate ID, removing the need for complex account numbers.
- QR Code Payments: A standardized Thai QR code system permits fast and easy payments at millions of merchants across the country.
- Government Integration: The government uses the rail for social welfare distribution and tax reimbursements directly to citizens' accounts.
- Cross-Border Connectivity: The system is linked with international payment networks, such as Singapore's PayNow, for low-cost foreign transfers.
Pros:
- Extremely high adoption, with over 67 million registered users.
- Transactions through digital channels are typically free or very low-cost.
- Supports a wide variety of use cases, including P2P, B2C, and G2P payments.
Cons:
- A single phone number or ID can only be linked to one bank account at a time.
- Interbank settlement occurs twice daily via deferred net settlement, not instant gross settlement.
- The system does not process transfers that occur within the same bank.
BAHTNET
BAHTNET is the Bank of Thailand's real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system, designed for high-value interbank fund transfers. It functions as the core settlement infrastructure for the country's financial system, processing large transactions with finality and security. While not a consumer-facing rail, it is the foundation upon which other payment systems, including PromptPay, perform their final interbank settlement.
- Large-Value Transfers: The system is built to handle large-value transactions between financial institutions securely.
- Real-Time Gross Settlement: Each transaction is settled individually and immediately, which minimizes credit risk between banks.
- Settlement Backbone: It provides the final settlement layer for various payment services in Thailand, ensuring funds are officially moved between banks.
Pros:
- Offers high safety and efficiency for critical, large-scale financial transfers.
- Eliminates settlement risk by processing transactions one by one in real time.
Cons:
- Not intended or accessible for everyday consumer or small business payments.
- Functions primarily as a back-end system for financial institutions.
PromptBiz
PromptBiz is a developing payment infrastructure initiative in Thailand focused on the business-to-business (B2B) sector. It is part of a national strategy to create a unified system for trade and payments. The goal is to build a common platform where businesses can manage transactions and related trade documents digitally.
- B2B Focus: The infrastructure is specifically designed to support digital payments and trade finance between corporations.
- Unified Platform: It aims to combine payment processing with the exchange of digital trade documents like invoices and purchase orders.
Pros:
- Addresses the specific needs of B2B transactions by integrating payment and trade information.
- Supports the national goal of a more cohesive digital economy for businesses.
Cons:
- It is more of a strategic infrastructure project than a widely adopted payment rail at present.
- Public information on its specific functions and usage is limited compared to PromptPay.
Limits, Fees, and SLAs
- Limits:Transaction limits are not defined at the scheme level. Individual financial institutions are free to set their own caps.
- Fee Structures:PSPs connect via sponsor banks, with fees set by bilateral agreement. Most banks have waived consumer fees for digital transactions.
- R2P Fees:There are no special charges for request-to-pay services. Most consumer digital payments are free.
- Operating Hours:The payment system operates 24/7/365, including on weekends and bank holidays, with no specified cut-off times.
- Failures & Returns:Financial institutions must have dedicated dispute resolution departments. Customers can escalate unresolved complaints to the Bank of Thailand.
Compliance and Risk
KYC/KYB & AML
Thailand enforces strict KYC and AML rules for all payment providers, overseen by the Bank of Thailand (BOT) and the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO). These rules require robust customer identification, transaction monitoring, and reporting of suspicious activity for both fiat and digital assets.
Data Residency & Privacy
Regulations mandate that payment service providers store transaction data for up to ten years. While specific data residency laws aren't detailed, records must be made available to the BOT upon request, implying a high degree of accessibility for regulatory oversight.
Fraud Controls
The BOT and AMLO mandate fraud controls, including two-factor authentication and transaction monitoring. A new Cybercrime Law further requires operators to screen for illicit activity, suspend accounts, and blacklist wallets associated with online fraud, enhancing consumer protection.
Recordkeeping & Audits
Payment system participants must maintain transaction data for at least ten years and keep a continuous audit trail. Licensed operators, particularly in the digital asset space, are also subject to mandatory annual IT and cybersecurity audits to ensure system integrity.
Lightning Network Integration as a Solution
The Lightning Network is a second-layer payment protocol built on Bitcoin, designed for instant, low-cost transactions. It operates through off-chain payment channels, settling final balances on the main blockchain. While domestic RTP rails excel within a country, the Lightning Network can act as a global settlement fabric. It connects disparate payment systems, offering a universal bridge for international transactions where local rails do not interoperate, making it a powerful complement.
Lightning offers sub-second settlement, often faster than the up-to-60-second window of some RTP systems. Its transaction fees are typically fractions of a cent, making micropayments economically practical. While a domestic rail’s reach is confined to one country, the Lightning Network provides global accessibility. It allows anyone with an internet connection to send and receive payments across borders, bypassing the limitations of national payment infrastructures.
- Cross-Border Complexity: It bypasses the traditional correspondent banking system, removing intermediaries and high fees for international transfers. Payments are direct and do not require bilateral agreements between national systems.
- Settlement Finality: Unlike RTP systems that often rely on deferred net settlement between banks, Lightning transactions are settled instantly between peers, providing immediate and final transfer of value.
- Micropayment Inefficiency: The network’s extremely low fees make it practical to process high volumes of tiny transactions, such as for content streaming or online gaming, which are often uneconomical on other payment rails.
For businesses aiming to operate in a truly global, open financial system, exploring Lightning integration is a logical next step.
B2B Enterprise Use Cases
- Supplier Payments – A business pays international suppliers instantly over the Lightning Network, avoiding correspondent banking delays and high foreign exchange fees.
"Business value:" Reduces cross-border transaction costs and improves supplier relations with immediate payment. - Merchant Settlement – A global e-commerce platform consolidates customer payments from multiple local currencies into a single account via Lightning.
"Business value:" Provides near-instant fund availability and simplifies multi-currency accounting. - Treasury Optimization – A multinational corporation moves funds between its international subsidiaries in real-time to manage liquidity and working capital.
"Business value:" Delivers 24/7 global liquidity management without dependence on banking hours. - Global Payroll – A company pays its international remote workforce and gig workers instantly, regardless of their location or local banking access.
"Business value:" Delivers immediate, low-cost salary payments to a global workforce. - Creator Payouts – A streaming platform distributes royalties to thousands of global creators in real-time based on consumption metrics.
"Business value:" Gives creators immediate access to earnings and reduces platform payout overhead.
Cross-Border Transactions and Remittances to Thailand
Cross-border RTP is complex due to differing regulations, compliance overhead, and technical integration. Reaching Thailand requires connecting disparate payment rails, a process known as rail bridging, and navigating complex foreign exchange (FX) paths. Traditional methods often involve long settlement times and high costs. For instance, sending funds from India to Thailand requires using regulated intermediaries in both countries, which adds operational friction and the risk of delays. This siloed regulatory approach creates significant hurdles for international business.
- Singapore: The PromptPay-PayNow linkage allows real-time fund transfers using just a mobile number, with a daily limit of SGD 1,000 or THB 25,000. This corridor was the world's first linkage of national real-time payment systems.
- Malaysia: A linkage between Thailand's PromptPay and Malaysia's DuitNow enables tourists in both countries to make retail payments by scanning interoperable QR codes. This facilitates trade and tourism between the neighboring countries.
- Japan: Thai tourists can pay merchants in Japan by generating a MyPromptQR code in their mobile banking app. This buyer-generated QR system simplifies payments for travelers abroad.
The Lightning Network offers a powerful alternative by acting as a global settlement layer. It can bridge domestic payment systems using Bitcoin as a neutral asset, automating routing and liquidity to provide instant, low-cost international transfers without direct counterparty risk.
How Lightspark Makes Integration Easy
Lightspark helps fintechs, digital banks, wallets, and exchanges connect to the Lightning Network without the typical operational overhead. Our platform abstracts away the complexity of managing liquidity, optimizing routing, and handling compliance. With our comprehensive developer tooling, you can quickly integrate and offer your customers new global payment services, including sub-second settlement globally. This opens up new product possibilities and market access through a single, reliable connection to an open payment protocol. To get started building on the future of money, Talk to our team.
Sources and Further Reading
- https://fastpayments.worldbank.org/sites/default/files/2021-09/World_Bank_FPS_Thailand_PromptPay_Case_Study.pdf – World Bank PromptPay case study.
- https://norbr.com/library/payworldtour/payment-methods-in-thailand/ – Overview of Thai payment methods.
- https://tazapay.com/payment-methods/promptpay – PromptPay payment method user details.
- https://www.bot.or.th/en/financial-innovation/digital-finance/digital-payment/cross-border-payment.html – Thai cross-border payment information.
- https://www.bot.or.th/en/financial-innovation/digital-finance/digital-payment/promptpay.html – Bank of Thailand PromptPay overview.
- https://www.bot.or.th/en/news-and-media/news/news-20210429.html – PromptPay-PayNow linkage press release.
- https://www.lightspark.com/contact – Contact the Lightspark sales team.
- https://www.lightspark.com/knowledge/is-crypto-legal-in-thailand – Legality of crypto in Thailand.
- https://www.lightspark.com/knowledge/what-does-the-lightning-network-do – Explains the Lightning Network's function.
- https://www.lightspark.com/news/insights/what-are-lightning-payments – Introduction to Lightning Network payments.
- https://www.mastercard.com/us/en/news-and-trends/Insights/2024/transforming-thailand-to-a-digital-economy.html – Thailand's digital economy transformation.
