Credit and debit card payments are popular payment methods, but did you know that non-card payments dominate in some of the world’s fastest growing markets?   In Southeast Asia (SEA), for example, ecommerce is expected to be worth over US $1 billion. Its internet economy will be close to US $240 billion by 2025   Knowing how these shoppers shop and pay will help international retailers formulate global expansion strategies that are better tailored for SEA. Mobile-first, engaged SEA consumers The region has more than 350 million internet users across important economies like Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. SEA is also one of the world’s most mobile-first internet regions, with over 90% going online via their smartphones. One might expect the shopping and payment preferences to be similar to those of digitally savvy consumers in economic powerhouses like the US and UK. Yet the behaviors of SEA’s mobile-first digital natives cannot be more different. According to Hootsuite research, Thai consumers use the mobile internet for 4 hours and 56 minutes per day. This is in contrast to

Local research studies about merchants’ readiness and acceptance of QR payment adoption are based on a technology acceptance model with five additional factors. This research is qualitative research using in-depth interviews with open-ended questions. This study’s sample population consists of 25 merchants and four executives from three major banking service providers who are authorized to provide standard QR codes. The findings indicate that perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, cost, network externalities, security and trust, personal innovativeness, and customer shopping experience are the factors influencing merchants’ acceptance of QR payment. In terms of attitude, most of the merchants have a positive attitude toward the QR payment service and are likely to continue using QR payment in the future. The Rise of QR code Payments in Thailand. Throughout the credit and debit card revolution of the last 20 years, Thailand has remained a predominantly cash-driven society. An estimated 87% of the country do not use credit cards, while an estimated 30% of the country still remains unbanked, therefore using cash for every transaction. There are numerous examples of independent industries where card