People encouraged to use e-banking

BANGKOK, August 31 (TNA) - The Thai Bankers’ Association plans to double the number of clients using electronic banking (e-banking) services to cut costs. Thai Bankers’ Association Chairman Boontuck Wungcharoen told an annual seminar of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), organized in Bangkok on Monday, that his association hopes the number of electronic transactions (e-transactions) via mobile phones and tablet computers should rise from 25 to 50-60 transactions per client per year within five years. Boontuck said his association has also set a goal to raise the percentage of electronic payment (e-payment) from 30 per cent to 60-70 per cent yearly Boontuck anticipated that the targeted increase should be achieved when local financial institutes improve their e-payment and anti-virus systems, while also replacing credit cards with magnetic strips with chip cards. Meanwhile, BOT Deputy Governor Tongurai Limpiti, who oversees the stability of financial institutes, told reporters that e-banking should reduce the volume of banknotes BOT must print and the amount of cash kept in automated teller machines (ATMs) nationwide, noting that cash storage in ATMs cost each bank 20-30 billion baht and banknote production is also costly. Tongurai anticipated that all ATMs should receive chip cards by early next year in order to ensure security, stressing that the general public should be informed of the security of e-banking; otherwise, the development of e-banking services could be obstructed. (TNA)