Thai shoppers put trust in card payments when paying online during COVID-19

Tuesday 17 November 2020 15:31

From left to right;

Thai shoppers put trust in card payments when paying online during COVID-19

  • Siripong Nandhasri, Senior Vice President, KBank
  • Suripong Tantiyanon, Country Manager, VISA Thailand
  • Krit Jitjang, President, KBank
  • Sansana Sukhanunth, Executive Vice President, KBank
  • Porvarate Chetphongphan, Executive Vice President, KBank

As we pass the halfway point of 2020, the world today looks very different from when we started the year. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has affected more than our health, as our daily habits have changed, and how we use goods and services has transformed. We do more online than ever before, buying things we'd never imagined buying remotely: from shopping for groceries to ordering break-time bubble tea from our favorite shop. And not being present in the store means we have changed the way we pay too.

In reality these changes were already in progress, but the pandemic has accelerated new customer habits. According to a recent study conducted by Visa, the global leader in digital payments, many Thai consumers turned to eCommerce for this first time, with two-thirds saying they were most likely to increase their online shopping. Similarly, two-thirds said they intended to stick with digital payment methods, including contactless card and ecommerce, instead of reverting back to cash when the situation returns to normal. For digital payments, the new normal is here to stay.

As more Thai consumers shop and pay with digital payments, KASIKORNBANK and Visa have been working closely to pioneer new ways and solutions to secure digital payments and eCommerce experiences during and after your payment is made. These are some of the behind the scenes security measures we carry out that will allow you to have more peace of mind when transacting digitally, and will shine a light onto why you should never look at digital payments the same way again.

Kantar COVID-19 Barometer, fieldwork 27-31 March 2020. The study collated consumer data across 40 markets globally and 11 markets in Asia-Pacific, including Thailand, combined with Ai-based web monitoring of what people are saying and searching on the internet.

One-time password, or OTP, may be familiar. This is most commonly used when you receive a unique password sent by SMS to your phone that you use to authorize your payment.

EMV CHIP is the small chip you see on your plastic card, and every time you pay this chip generates a dynamic one-time use code for each transaction. Using EMV CHIP cards means we are able to provide an additional layer of security known as dynamic authentication in addition to the real-time fraud scans conducted when the transaction is authorized by the issuing financial institution.

Visa Advanced Authorisation is a service that uses predictive analytics combined with machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) to analyse more than 500 unique risk attributes and allocates a risk score for each transaction. This score is then shared with KBank Credit Card so we can make an informed decision on whether to approve or decline a transaction. On average, Visa analyses more than six billion pieces of data every day. When data analytics is used with authentication methods like biometrics to verify the cardholder, payment security is enhanced.

Visa Tokenization will help ensure no sensitive data is transmitted during an online transaction. It replaces sensitive account information, such as the 16-digit account number, with a unique digital identifier called a token. This token then allows payments to be processed without exposing actual account details that could potentially be compromised. This means your card number and expiry date is not shared and your account is kept secure.

Although most sales transactions are processed, posted and paid for with few problems, you may see a charge on your card that is unfamiliar or incorrect. To settle any disputes, KBank Credit Card has a chargeback policy. The purpose is to protect cardholders from fraud and unfair billing practices. This allows cardholders to feel more confident using cards freely, knowing that they will not be held responsible for the actions of identity thieves, deceptive merchants and other fraudsters.

You can also imagine if your wallet gets stolen with cash in it, it can be virtually impossible to replace that money, unless the wallet is retrieved. On the other hand, with cards, the process to replace lost or stolen cards is relatively seamless. All you have to do is contact your card-issuing bank and they will work with you to disable the card and prevent your funds from being exploited by fraudsters.

At KBank Credit Card, we continue to upgrade technology and tools to keep up with the shifting digital landscape. We have invested in fraud monitoring system, which enables us to detect fraudulent online payments and protecting our cardholders as well as keeping the ecosystem safe. During the onset of COVID-19, we have witnessed one-hundred percent growth in payment volume in online shopping category and it is more important than ever to make ensure the new digital commerce environment is safe for everyone

Our effort to bolster Thailand's payment security has not gone unnoticed. Earlier this year, we were awarded the Visa Champion Security Award Southeast Asia 2020. It is an award that recognizes the bank with the most robust policy, process and practice that keep the network safe and enables Thailand's commerce to flow, grow and thrive in the long run. Our mission is far from finished nonetheless.

At KASIKORNBANK, we envisage a less-cash, less friction and less fraud future. As consumers are adapting to the new normal and businesses, large and small, look to expand new ways to conduct commerce, we are committed to collaborating with partners and develop and further invest in security standards that deliver a safer, secure and seamless commerce experience.