Any ID plan is close to commencement

The government has claimed that by July this year it expects to have much, or most, of the planned electronic payments system it calls Any ID ready for registration by members of the public.

The basic premise of the Any ID system is to allow for electronic payments to be made, whether for purchasing goods and services or paying tax, by people who have registered a bank account linked to either a mobile phone number or an ID number.

The Bank of Thailand has said it would be best for most customers to link their bank account, the one they use most regularly, with their mobile phone number rather than their ID number.

The Any ID system will also allow people who don’t have a bank account to be able to transfer money using a mobile phone and their national identification card number.

The government has also announced plans to increase the number of electronic data capture (EDC) machines, in tandem with the roll out of the Any ID scheme.

The whole roll out will be divided into two phases. In the first phase the government and the Bank of Thailand will encourage companies, state agencies and individuals who are registered with the value-added tax (VAT) system to install card payment machines. The second phase will focus on those operating outside the VAT system to install card payment machines.

An estimated one million EDC machines will be required to cover the nation.

There are currently around 300,000 EDC machines in operation around the country and the government plans to install a further 500,000 in the first phase.

Naturally, all government agencies will be supplied with a machine, so they will be able to take e-payments, while 7-Eleven convenience stores will also be among those issued with an EDC machine, with 20 baht as the minimum payment value.

The Any ID system will be able to facilitate tax returns by the early part of 2017, although people will have to register to be able to receive their tax rebates into their bank accounts electronically.

E-tax, which will include e-tax invoices and e-withholding tax, will be implemented by the end of this year according to the government. The Revenue Department will enter all data from money transfers made through Any ID and payments through EDC machines into its taxation data system in an effort to boost efficiency.

The value of electronic money (e-money) transactions was 6.4 billion baht in January this year, with 5.9 billion baht attributed to non-bank institutions.