Kasikornbank Ltd. plans to embark on a Near-Field Communication payments trial in Thailand this month, an official from the Bangkok-based bank confirms to PaymentsSource.
Netherlands-based digital-security provider Gemalto NV says it is partnering with the bank and with Advanced Info Services, Thailand's largest telecommunication operator based on subscribers, for the test of the two-way contactless technology. Gemalto will provide its Trusted Services Management service from Taiwan to support the NFC trial, the company notes in a July 20 statement.
During the trial, users will be able to access an interface on their phones that would guide them to some 40 retail outlets where they would be able to make NFC payments for food, entertainment and grocery shopping by tapping their phones on terminals at the outlets.
PaymentsSource was unable to reach anyone at Advanced Info Services or Gemalto to determine more specifically how the payments would work, and officials from Kasikornbank also were unable to provide additional trial details, including how many consumers would participate and how long the test would last.
