"Cashless Society" initiated at AFAPS in Thailand

BANGKOK, August 3 (TNA) - The Royal Thai Armed Forces, in cooperation with state-run Krungthai Bank (KTB), has initiated a cashless society at its Armed Forces Academies Preparatory School (AFAPS), in which "smart student ID cards" are used, instead of banknotes and coins, as a modeled trial place before the system, if found successful, will be expanded to other Thai military institutes and agencies. Thai Supreme Commander General Thanchaiyan Srisuwan presided over a ceremony on Friday to launch the "Student ID Smart Card Smart AFAPS 4.0" project, held at the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters on the outskirts of Bangkok. Under the project, a smart card system issued by KTB, called the KTB IPAC with comprehensive functions, will be used by all students at AFAPS as both their debit cards and student ID cards to be accessible to all facilities provided in the compound. The "Student ID Smart Card Smart AFAPS 4.0" project is aimed to support not only the Thai government's National E-Payment and Thailand 4.0 Policies, but also a KTB study model on the development of its financial management through its digital platform. "The comprehensive functions of the new smart student ID card system at AFAPS include the banking debit system and the accessibility to all the facilities in its compound, including the electronic data capture, realtime radio-frequency identification (RFID), library, healthcare and dormitory services", said KTB President Payong Srivanich. (TNA)