Siam Commercial Bank

Prompted by the Thai government's drive toward a cashless society, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) and The Mall Group (TMG), a major upscale retailer based in Bangkok, turned to Fujitsu for an automated, flexible and cashless point-of-sale solution. Up and running since September 2017, the new system is boosting customer satisfaction and streamlining operations for both retailer and bank. Its success paves the way to expanding the system and co-creating more new digital services.

The story so far

Bringing together multiple partners for a solution “Made in Thailand”

Only a few years ago, this project might have been impossible. Central bank regulations were too restrictive and customers were not yet ready. But in recent years the Thai government’s "national e-payment agenda" led to the introduction of PromptPay, a new e-payment infrastructure across all banks in the Southeast Asian nation. Along with the credit- and debit-card transactions common in similar systems, PromptPay goes a step further to include QR code functionality – which makes it possible to pay directly from a smartphone.

As this new era dawned, SCB, one of Thailand’s most progressive banks, was determined to lead the way. But to prove the concept SCB needed an equally progressive retail partner with lots of smartphone- and card-bearing customers, plus a technology provider with just the right expertise. TMG, Thailand’s leading operator of Gourmet supermarkets (with an average of 2 million transactions per month) was the obvious choice on the retail side. After a careful selection process, both SCB and TMG agreed that Fujitsu offered the best technology. And so a three-way process of co-creation began in early 2017.

A paramount KPI for the project was a superior Thai-language interface, given Thailand’s unique script and intricate culture of politeness. Accustomed to similar language challenges in Japan, Fujitsu readily agreed that the software had to be locally developed. And to keep costs down, so did the hardware. The result is a solution entirely “Made in Thailand.”

At the same time, Thailand being one of the world’s major tourist destinations, the system had to be flexible enough to meet the language needs and payment preferences of a diverse clientele.

Plus, a range of other functions were required, such as validating parking passes and factoring in membership and coupon discounts. In fact, this functionality was seen as a critical feature from launch, with self-checkout discounts as the lure to get shoppers to try it.

What’s more, the new solution had to be compatible with TMG’s existing store system.

How do you get shoppers to try something they've never seen before?

TMG's Bangkok Gourmet supermarkets – favored by young, up-scale, tech-savvy and time-stressed shoppers – was the perfect place to launch an innovation completely new to Thailand. Many TMG shoppers have both credit cards and smartphones, along with the knowhow to master unfamiliar apps.

Even so, the trio of co-creators knew they had to do everything possible to gain acceptance from customers. First of all, the external design had to be friendly and welcoming. Second, user instructions had to be intuitive and easy-to-understand in the local language. And third, the twin lures of faster checkout and deep discounts were seen as essential.

To stimulate trial at launch, TMG presented early adopters with an offer too good to refuse: spend 500 baht and get 100 baht back.

As expected at launch, staff had to be on hand to show shoppers how to use the system. But as people learned how to use the system the need for such “interventions” gradually tailed off.

［Published in 2019］