Bangkok, 6 February 2009 – Welcome to Bangkok! Thailand’s swelling capital of over 9 million people teeming with culture, traffic and 60,000 colourful taxis. Amidst the city’s busy traffic, dozens of different taxi companies in multi-hues line the busy city soi (streets) vying for passengers. Cheap and plentiful, commuters are spoilt for choice.
Determined to provide innovative and differentiated services, Howa International, a major Bangkok cab and limousine company is trailblazing the way commuters pay - with GHL Systems as its chosen technology partner. Howa is among the first taxi companies in the Asia Pacific region to introduce mobile contactless payments via GPRS/GSM.
The requirement for the solution included implementing extremely cost effective contactless solution while utilizing, high-speed, always-on connectivity via mobile or wireless terminals. The transaction would then be routed via GPRS to the payment host and network at the acquiring bank’s premises, Kasikorn Bank (KBank).
The pilot deployment will roll out in February 2009, encompassing over 100 taxis in the city. With mobile contactless credit facilities, commuters in Bangkok can now enjoy secure, speedy transactions and the convenience of cashless payments on the go.
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