PromptPay as a foreigner in Thailand
Paying a Thai QR code needs a Thai banking app. Receiving money through PromptPay needs a Thai bank account with an identifier registered to it. Those two sentences cover most of the confusion: as a visitor you can usually pay, sometimes with your own country's app, while being paid is the part that needs residency paperwork.
As a visitor
Thailand's QR codes are everywhere, and most of them expect a Thai banking app. Several foreign wallets and bank apps can now pay Thai QR codes through cross-border arrangements, which works where it works and is worth testing on a small amount before relying on it.
What a visitor cannot generally do is receive money through PromptPay, because the identifier has to be registered to a Thai account. For splitting a dinner, that means a visitor is a payer, not the person holding the bill.
As a resident with a Thai account
Once you have a Thai bank account, registering PromptPay is a one-time step in the bank's app, at an ATM or in a branch. The usual identifier for a foreign resident is a Thai mobile number, since registering with a national ID number assumes a Thai ID card.
Exactly what a bank accepts, and which identifier it will register for whom, varies between banks and between branches, and it changes. Ask at the branch where you opened the account; that answer is current and the internet's is not.
Paying a Thai person from abroad
An account number plus a bank name plus a transfer fee is the old way, and it still works. What makes it unpleasant is the transcription: a number read out over a call, typed into a form, and a day of waiting to find out whether it was right.
A payment link with a code in it removes the typing, which is most of the error. It also means the person being paid never has to publish their account number, which is the thing they would rather not send to a group chat.
Being paid by Thai friends
This is the common case for anybody living here: you paid for the tickets and four people owe you. With PromptPay registered, you can hand out a code and it is settled in a minute.
Without it, you are back to an account number, and friends will transfer the wrong amount to the wrong digits. Registering once is worth it for that reason alone, and a code with your face on it means nobody has to ask which of the codes in the chat is yours.
Checklist
- Test a foreign app on a small QR payment before trusting it for a big one.
- Open the Thai bank account first; PromptPay is registered to an account, not to a person.
- Register the Thai mobile number you intend to keep.
- Ask your branch what it accepts, rather than relying on a general answer.
- Keep a code of your own for the times friends owe you money.
- For transfers from abroad, send a code rather than an account number.
Make your own PromptPay QR
Your code with your photo on it, so friends can see who they are paying. Free, in the browser, and it works with every Thai bank.
Open SlipDeeFrequently asked questions
Can I register PromptPay with my passport number?
- Some banks handle foreign customers differently, and practice changes. The reliable route for most foreign residents is a Thai mobile number registered to a Thai account, and the branch that holds the account is the place to ask.
Can I pay a Thai QR code with a foreign bank app?
- Sometimes. Cross-border QR payment exists between Thailand and several countries, and support depends on your bank. Try it small first.
Can a tourist receive money through PromptPay?
- Not without a Thai bank account. For a one-off, the Thai person can often pay through whatever international method you already use.
Do I need a Thai phone number?
- For the usual registration route, yes, and it should be a number you will keep. A number you lose takes the identifier with it, and re-registering is another trip.
Is a Thai bank account hard to open?
- It depends on your visa and on the branch, and it is the one step nothing here can shortcut. Everything about PromptPay follows from having it.
