Таиланд предлагает туристам новую услугу: обмен криптовалюты на баты для онлайн-платежей Translation: Thailand Offers Tourists a New Service: Cryptocurrency Exchange for Baht in Online Payments

On August 18, Thailand will introduce the initiative TouristDigiPay, allowing international visitors to convert cryptocurrency into Thai baht for online transactions. This was reported by Crowdfund Insider.

The service will enable tourists to exchange digital assets and make electronic payments by scanning a QR code.

According to reports, the new program will be announced at a press conference on Monday by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavanit, alongside local regulators.

To utilize TouristDigiPay, guests in Thailand must open accounts with both a digital asset company and a regulated e-money provider, overseen by the local Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the central bank.

Participants are also required to undergo KYC (Know Your Customer) verification and a «reliability check» in accordance with the criteria set by the Anti-Money Laundering Office.

The model operates within a regulatory sandbox that provides oversight and prevents the direct use of digital assets as payment methods.

Napongthawat Phothikhet, Senior Director of the Payment Systems and Financial Technology Policy Department at the Bank of Thailand, announced the readiness of a «tourist wallet.» This will facilitate payments for individuals from countries without cross-border QR payment agreements.

Initially, the system will operate as an e-money platform for currency conversion, with plans to connect it to foreign debit and credit cards in the future.

For vendors using terminals, there is a monthly cap on cryptocurrency payments set at 500,000 baht (approximately $15,400), while small businesses will have a limit of 50,000 baht (around $1,500).

As a reminder, in May, the Thai government announced the launch of a digital investment token called G-Token. The SEC emphasized that the asset, developed by the Ministry of Finance to address the budget deficit, cannot be used for purchasing goods or making transfers.