E-payments applied to small retail stores in Thailand

BANGKOK, August 1 (TNA) - The Thai government, through the Ministry of Commerce, invites small-scaled retail stores nationwide, including even stalls at fresh markets, to join an official program on applying the e-payment system to low-income welfare card holders whenever they buy goods at the stores. Thai Commerce Minister Sontirat Sontijirawong told journalists of the move on Wednesday, announcing his ministry's target on having 200,000 small-scaled retail stores nationwide to join in the official program within three months. Sontirat said that the official program is aimed not only to facilitate about 11.43 million low-income welfare card holders across the country, but also to create more income to the small-scaled retail stores and even stalls in local areas. The minister revealed that about 20,000 small-scaled retail stores across the country have joined in the official initiative so far, which should earn them totally about 4 billion baht monthly. Besides, his ministry has installed electronic data capture (EDC) machines at about 38,000 small-scaled retail stores nationwide that have joined in his ministry's "blue flag" program as an alternative payment system for the low-income welfare card holders. The minister stated, meanwhile, that his ministry has also joined forces with local educational institutes to launch training courses on, for instances, taxes, business management and marketing strategies to owners of "blue flag" shops nationwide in order to provide them with necessary business knowledge and to enhance their competitiveness for their long run sustainability, along with supporting local small-scaled producers across the country to create their networks, as supply chains, with "blue flag" shops in their respective areas. (TNA)