Thailand has developed socially and economically in an impressive way over the past four decades, going from a low-income to an upper-middle-income nation in less than a generation. Thailand's economy is 2nd largest in Southeast Asia in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP). According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), despite the COVID-19 pandemic, Thailand's economic growth rate is higher than most of the world's powerful economies, including America, Europe (as a whole), France, Russia, Japan, Germany, Taiwan, etc.
According to the World Bank, Thailand ranked 21 out of 190 countries in the ease of doing business index, which shows the excellent business environment of the country. The Stock Exchange of Thailand is ASEAN's 2nd largest and the world's 23rd by market capitalization at $564 billion as of May 2022. Industry, Service and Travel are the main sectors of Thailand's economy. After Singapore, Thailand also ranked 2nd in Southeast Asia in external trade volume. Thailand's exports are massive, accounting for the lion's share of the country's GDP.
According to Bain & Company and Facebook, only six Southeast Asian countries (Thailand, Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam) have added 70 million more people to shop online since COVID-19 began. The report also stated that there are more than 2 billion online shoppers in the world.
Thai companies did a fantastic job embracing the tech world before the pandemic struck. Many businesses now allow clients to complete transactions online. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, social isolation, shutdowns, and other restrictions that went into effect at the beginning of 2020 caused customers to turn toward online purchasing, social networking use, internet telephony, and streaming of videos and movies. These trends increased online shopping firms, particularly business-to-consumer (B2C) sales and business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce.
The increased internet, mobile phone use, improved e-payment systems, and logistics are the main factors of this expansion, giving consumers more confidence to shop online and increasing convenience. The Digital Economy Promotion Agency estimates that by 2023, the market for e-commerce in Thailand will reach $25 billion, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 12%. As per Statista, Thailand's e-commerce market will achieve US$33.58 billion by 2025, and the number of users is expected to amount to 43.5 million by 2025.
The Thai government is eagerly working toward its digital age policy with the express intention of building a nationwide broadband network for every village nationwide. This national broadband network will support modern economic development by fostering eCommerce and reducing the digital gap.
In the world, there are 7.9 billion people at present and the population will reach around 10 billion in 2050. The best international payment gateway opens your doors to a huge market. According to a report by the UNCTAD, the value of global trade has reached $28.5 trillion in 2021, and the sales of retail eCommerce worldwide surpassed $4.9 trillion, which is approximate 17% of total world trade and is expected to touch $7.4 trillion by 2025.
E-Payment use is increasing as e-commerce expands since it facilitates quicker and more convenient product purchases. Thailand's e-payment system and the rapid increase in mobile broadband adoption might propel the country's online and mobile banking business into sophistication in less than three years. By 2025, 43.5 million people are anticipated to utilize e-commerce, an increase of 19%.
Thailand's smartphone users love to purchase online, with 71% doing so at least twice every month. Nearly 90% of smartphone users anticipate doing their shopping online in the future. Offering in-app purchases will be essential for merchants to reach the majority of online consumers in Thailand because apps are the most popular way to shop online, accounting for 65% of all transactions.
There are currently 48.6 million internet users in Thailand, a rise of 5.9 million from 2021 to 2022. Additionally, there are 56.85 million users of social media in Thailand and 95.6 million mobile connections.
The COVID-19 outbreak fueled Thailand's desire to become a "cashless society," with more merchants accepting online payments. Thai buyers are already among the top internet shoppers, with 36.60 million purchasing consumer items. In 2021, the market for online shopping reached to be worth $18.97 billion overall.
According to JP Morgan, a growth in domestic e-commerce merchants will boost sales volume. Nearly 30% of Thailand's total e-commerce market is made up of cross-border transactions. Around 50% of online buyers have already made an international purchase.
Thailand is an exporter country if a new merchant wants to contribute to the country's growth as well as his own and wants to expand its business, including e-commerce, gambling, the forex market, fantasy games, entertainment, and others over the globe. The merchant account provider or payment service provider is the entity that enables merchants to accept any international & domestic payment. There are hundreds of payment gateway in the market, but you have to choose the best one because the payment gateway not only works as a mediator but also as a protector.
We will further discuss thoroughly in this article the most important features a payment gateway must offer to its merchant.
A payment gateway is a cloud-based interface between your merchant account and an e-commerce website. It is a technology or mechanism that collects a customer's payment details and transmits them to the merchant's bank with security. It also responds back to the merchant with an approval or rejection notification of payment. A payment gateway securely validates a customer's payment information, ensures the availability of funds and transaction limit, and eventually assists you in receiving payment.
We simplify the process in Step-by-Step mode for easier understanding.
Step-I - A customer clicks "buy now" when he wishes to buy any products or services. In a hosted payment gateway, the consumer is redirected from the merchant website to the payment page; meanwhile, in a non-hosted payment gateway, the customer makes their payment directly on the merchant website.
Step-II - The buyer is now on the payment page. He has to enter the card (credit or debit) details, or if he is using other payment methods, he needs to fill in other needful info to make payment.
Step-III - After submission, the card information is safely transmitted to your payment gateway. Before sending the card information to the acquiring bank, the payment gateway conducts a security check and encryption on it.
Step-IV - The acquiring bank transmits the data securely to the appropriate card schemes, including Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Rupay, etc.
Step-V - The card schemes perform an additional layer of security checks before forwarding payment information to the issuing bank. The issuing bank confirms the transaction after conducting a security and fraud check. The acquirer receives a message of "approval" or "rejection" from the payment service provider.
Step-VI - If the payment is accepted, the acquirer will receive payment from the issuing bank and retain the money in the merchant's account. If the transaction fails, the merchant could advise the customer to try again using an alternative payment method.
The best payment gateway enables smooth transactions that happen in the background in real time and take only a few seconds to complete.
A survey conducted by one of the biggest news agencies of Thailand, The Nation (Thailand), in May 2022 indicates that nearly half of Thai people have been scammed online in the last year, and 2 out of 5 have been the victim of scamming while 48.1 % of the participants had experienced fraud. Of these online victims, more than 80% are victims of friendly fraud (After purchase, did not receive the goods).
Online companies are more vulnerable to fraud than traditional organizations. According to a Merchant Savvy survey, international payment fraud has increased thrice since 2011. The amount was $9.84 billion in 2021; it increased to $32.39 billion in 2020 and is anticipated to reach $40.62 billion in 2027. Additionally, according to this data, 47% of the participants admitted falling victim to fraud in the previous two years.
Most only businesses are considered high-risk due to various reasons. The reason may be the nature of business, the geographical region, the high rate of chargebacks, regulated or unregulated, etc. A high-risk merchant account provider must offer its merchants a high-risk merchant account or payment gateway to safeguard them from any scam, fraud, and chargeback.
The best payment gateway must provide its merchants with top-notch fraud prevention technology, including:
A payment gateway must include all these security features, including multi-factor authentication and other newly created fraud protection functions.
In Thailand, a buyer needs different payment options when buying something from a merchant's website or app. According to Statista, bank transfer takes the top spot, accounting for 32% of all e-commerce transactions. Cards and E-wallets come in second with 22% each, and the traditional cash method comes on third with 15% of the total transaction. Card and E-wallet will overtake the cash payment in upcoming years. Thailand's government is encouraging the use of cryptocurrencies in the country and providing licenses for a few.
For an international merchant, it is hard to find out which currency is used in a targeted region, but a merchant account provider like PayCly specially created its R&D team of techie geeks and statisticians that is the best in the Fintech world, who works round the clock to gather all the relevant data that can be useful for its merchant.
As we know that the preferred payment options vary by state. For example, Thai people use bank transfers more than cards and e-wallets. Credit or debit cards are used more frequently than any other form of payment in America, and Europe, according to a Statista report. Digital wallets, however, outweigh credit cards and other conventional payment methods across Asia-Pacific.
Users in the electronic age use cryptocurrencies in addition to more traditional payment options like credit or debit cards, online transfers, digital wallets, etc.
An international high-risk merchant account provider must provide as many payment options as possible to increase the retention rate of customers and help its merchants grow.
Numerous studies show that consumers always prefer to pay in their native currency when making purchases of goods or services. A customer does not want to pay for their item in a currency that is not standard to him. According to a poll to verify this statistic, if users could not pay with their local currency, 1/3 of them abandoned the website or mobile app. A high-risk merchant account that permits processing in many currencies is essential for an international vendor since allowing payments in local currencies encourages customers to make larger purchases. Customers find it simpler to understand the actual cost of things, and currency conversion confusion is also reduced.
A payment gateway's customer-centric strategy must include multilingual support. It puts you above your competitors and increases consumer loyalty and retention rates. It improves the customer experience, which helps create brand value.
When a buyer attempts to purchase products from a merchant's website or app, he adds the item to the cart and proceeds to the checkout page but finds it in another language; he may abandon the transaction. The reason is simple: Trust, every customer wants to see the actual price, item, and terms & conditions in their own language so that they can be assured that everything is correct.
The best payment gateway integration should be compatible with all shopping carts. A merchant account provider must provide the checkout page customized according to the client's requirements, and also the integration process should be quick and adaptable.
Ensure a simple checkout process, as it is comparatively essential. The overall shopping experience might be ruined by slow payment processing. It can have a direct influence on sales by diverting customers away from your site. If customers do not trust your payment methods or if the checkout appears suspicious, their wallets are likely to remain closed.
A Payment gateway must be sensitive to the merchant's requirements and facilitate every possible facility for its merchant.
You are a merchant doing business of your choice and want to expand or channel your business. So you approach the world's most famous payment gateway to provide you with payment services, but it is denied because it does not support that industry. Reasons may be others, too: because you are not a prominent merchant, your bank does not upgrade your credit rating, etc. What's the result? Did the renounced name help you? Answer in no. The world's famous payment provider is unsuitable and useless for you and your business as it cannot serve you. PayCly is best because of its services, industry support and all other state-of-the-art features, not by blowing its own trumpet.
In general, a payment service provider must facilitate you with a high-risk payment gateway if you are dealing in a high-risk business. Ideally, a PSP should support as many industries as possible worldwide.
These are some industries a Payment Gateway must provide its services:
Only a few significant industries have been covered here, but PayCly believes the ideal payment gateway should provide its services to almost all industries.
Earth not only revolves but also rotates. It rotates on its own axis, producing a 24-hour day. There is always coexist day and night together on earth. Here or there, people are shopping round the clock and using services 24*7 when clients are available 24*7 in the international market, so a merchant also needs to work all day.
A multinational business that operates around-the-clock needs a payment gateway that provides 24-hour customer care. A proper and timely response to any difficulties should be provided by customer care, which should be available in both local and foreign languages.
We've now covered the most important aspects of a payment processor. Before selecting a payment gateway, a retailer must carefully take into account the aforementioned factors.
PayCly has established itself as the most reliable Southeast Asian payment gateway. We are one of the leading payment gateways in the world, and we offer our services globally. We have been offering our top services in Thailand for years. We are the best in the high-risk category, and by providing the best high-risk payment gateway, we enable Thai businesses to spread their wings like the Siamese fireback. We also help Thais enterprises to expand their global presence by providing them with the best international payment solution. Additionally, our expert team helps firms comply with international laws and regulations and reduce their tax and other costs.
As we saw in the reports, nearly 50% of Thai already purchased from an oversea firm. Thai people are very open to oversea purchase. If you are a foreign firm and want to enter the Thailand market, then PayCly can offer you a local merchant account or third-party payment gateway so that you will be able to trade efficiently.
In the Thailand market, PayCly is the only fully functional payment gateway. The following are some of the features PayCly offers you: -
We have just briefly discussed a handful of PayCly's features and benefits, but we are honest when we say that they are just the beginning of our competitive advantages. There is a lot we serve our clients best available in the market. We can confidently say merchants need not worry about Payment Processing Services for any business. PayCly is always available to assist them.
We've learned about the domestic & international markets as well as payment service providers and now know payment gateway inside out. After reading this article, a reader can say that he has understood enough about what to look for when choosing the best international and high-risk merchant account or payment gateway. We have also elaborated the some of PayCly's advancements over its opponents. We can say that no other players in the market are providing the level of facilities that PayCly is providing. So we suggest you make the right decision at the right time, choose PayCly for your payment solution, and experience the best services in the world. We wish you luck.
The Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council (PCI SSC), an independent body founded by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, and JCB, is responsible for regulating and managing the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS), a set of guidelines. Firms that receive, store, or send credit card data must comply with PCI DSS to protect customer card information.
Yes, PayCly offers its clients a white-label payment gateway. The white label payment gateway provides a customized, high-tech, integrated, and manageable payment gateway specially made for your requirements. Your brand name will be displayed and promoted entirely over the payment gateway. The white-label payment gateway is more customized as it has the merchant's name and logo over the checkout page.
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/IC.BUS.EASE.XQ?most_recent_value_desc=false
https://www.imf.org/external/datamapper/NGDP_RPCH@WEO/OEMDC/ADVEC/WEOWORLD/THA
https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/thailand-ecommerce
https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/ecommerce/thailand
https://www.nationthailand.com/in-focus/40015870
https://www.pcisecuritystandards.org/about_us/
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