Kasikornbank enables Grab QR cross-border payments for Thai travellers
The blockchain-powered infrastructure will enable real-time transactions for customers in Singapore
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[SINGAPORE] Kasikornbank (KBank) is expanding its Q Wallet service to allow Thai travellers to pay Singapore merchants using GrabPay QR codes via blockchain-based settlement.
The blockchain-powered infrastructure will enable real-time cross-border transactions between Thailand and Singapore without requiring travellers to exchange currency or open overseas bank accounts.
The combination of blockchain technology and traditional finance systems aims to increase traveller convenience, eliminating a “reliance on cash”, said Dr Karin Boonlertvanich, executive vice-president of KBank, on Wednesday (Apr 8).
The bank is also planning more of such international expansions, with Singapore selected as its first overseas pilot market, allowing it to “further develop cross-border payment models through digital financial systems”.
Instant blockhain settlement
The initiative involves a collaboration between digital asset payments platform StraitsX, KBank and Grab.
StraitsX and KBank are participating members under the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s Bloom initiative, designed to enable the settlement of tokenised bank liabilities and well-regulated stablecoins.
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StraitsX, issuer of the Singdollar-backed XSGD stablecoin, will provide the blockchain-based settlement bridge between the Thai and Singapore payment ecosystems.
A stablecoin is a form of cryptocurrency designed to maintain a stable value relative to a certain asset, with a far lower volatility than other cryptocurrencies.
The new project is currently being operated under the Regulatory Sandbox of the Bank of Thailand, building upon the earlier launch of Q Wallet services for international tourists in Thailand.
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Q Wallet is a blockchain-based digital wallet that allows tourists to trade different stablecoins for seamless QR code payments without a local bank account.
Until now, it has been limited to tourists in Thailand converting US dollar stablecoin to Thai baht stablecoin.
KBank’s blockchain-based electronic money, Q-money, will be used as the “settlement medium, enabling blockchain payments that are fast, transparent and fully traceable”.
Through its integration with StraitsX, Q-money works alongside the XSGD stablecoin and will implement Purpose Bound Money (PBM) to ensure robust controls, enabling real-time blockchain settlement between the two payment systems.
PBM is a digital currency protocol that allows funds to be programmed with specific conditions, such as expiration dates or designated recipients, ensuring they are only spent on intended purposes.
The Q-money and XSGD interoperability will help transactions to be processed “instantly and transparently”, allowing merchants within the Grab network to receive payments immediately and for travellers to make seamless cross-border payments.
“Travellers shouldn’t have to think about currencies when they cross borders,” said StraitsX CEO Liu Tianwei. “By connecting Q-money with XSGD, we’re enabling instant blockchain settlement between Thailand and Singapore.”
StraitsX and Grab in November announced a pact to explore the development of a Web3-enabled payments infrastructure across Asia.
This was aimed at enabling GrabPay merchants across major Asian markets to accept stablecoin payments from both domestic and international consumers via the widely used Web3, or digital asset wallets.
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