Setting Up PromptPay in Thailand

PromptPay is a real-time interbank payment system that lets any Thai bank account send and receive money using a simple identifier — your Thai mobile number, your 13-digit Thai national ID or tax ID, or a unique 15-digit PromptPay e-wallet code — instead of the recipient's full bank account number. Settlement is instant, 24/7, including weekends and public holidays. For a country that ten years ago ran almost entirely on cash, the change has been transformational. Street food vendors, taxi drivers, motor-bike messengers, temples, dentists, schools, and the Thai Revenue Department all accept PromptPay QR. For foreigners it removes the need to carry large amounts of cash and makes splitting bills with Thai friends and colleagues effortless.

PromptPay supports three main identifier types. The first is a Thai mobile number registered in your own name (AIS, True, or DTAC). This is the most popular option for individuals and is universally readable by Thai QR scanners. The second is your 13-digit Thai national ID number (for Thai citizens) or your 13-digit tax ID / Pink Card / Yellow Book number for foreigners. The third is a 15-digit code used by e-wallets such as TrueMoney and Rabbit LINE Pay. Foreigners on long-stay visas usually link PromptPay to their Thai mobile number first, because it is faster to set up and matches the Thai social norm of sharing a phone number. If you obtain a Thai tax ID, you can register that as a second identifier for higher transaction limits and for receiving freelance or business income.

Registration happens inside your Thai banking app once your account is active. In K PLUS, SCB EASY, Bualuang mBanking, KMA, and every other Thai bank app, navigate to Settings or Services and select PromptPay registration. Enter the identifier (mobile number or tax ID) and confirm. The bank sends an OTP and the registration is complete within seconds. You can also register at any ATM by inserting your Thai debit card, selecting the PromptPay option, and following the prompts. Each identifier can only be linked to one bank account at a time across the entire Thai banking system — so if you want PromptPay at a different bank, you must first deregister it from the old one. Many foreigners use mobile-number PromptPay at their primary bank and tax-ID PromptPay at a secondary bank.

PromptPay transfers between Thai bank accounts are free for amounts up to 5,000 THB per transaction. Above 5,000 THB the fee is currently 2 THB up to 30,000 THB, then 5 THB up to 100,000 THB, then 10 THB up to 1,000,000 THB. Daily limits are set inside each bank's app, typically defaulting to 200,000 THB and adjustable up to 2 million THB or more. Individual mobile-number registrations are capped at 50,000 THB per transaction by Bank of Thailand rules. Tax-ID registrations support higher limits, which is why freelancers and small businesses prefer the tax-ID linkage. There are no fees on the receiving side.

Thai QR PromptPay codes are everywhere — stickers on food stall counters, taped to taxi windows, projected on hospital cashier screens, and pasted in temple donation boxes. To pay, open your banking app, scan the QR with the in-app scanner, confirm the amount and merchant name, and tap pay. The transaction settles instantly and a digital receipt is generated. Etiquette tip: show the merchant your confirmation screen with the green tick before walking off — they will not always have an audible notification and will appreciate seeing the success message. For larger amounts (above 5,000 THB), expect the merchant to verify their phone alert before releasing the goods. Screenshot fraud is a real problem and Thai merchants have learned to be cautious.

Your PromptPay mobile-number link only works while your Thai SIM remains active in your name. If you let your SIM lapse — common for retirees who travel home for months — PromptPay will keep working until the SIM is reassigned by the telco, at which point your registration becomes orphaned and incoming payments may bounce. Foreigners using prepaid SIMs registered with their passport occasionally hit issues if the SIM was registered before they had the bank account, especially if name fields don't exactly match. The fix is usually a quick visit to the carrier's flagship store to reconfirm registration. Tax-ID PromptPay is more durable because the tax ID does not lapse with phone numbers, but it requires you to actually have a Thai tax ID first.