Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) is collaborating with The Mall Group to facelift the shopping experience in the Retail 4.0 era. Launched under a "The First Cashless Retail Experience" slogan, the cooperative effort aims to introduce digital era shoppers to a new cashless shopping experience in Thailand. Shoppers will be able to simply make payments using QR codes at Gourmet Market, Food Hall, and Take Home outlets nationwide. The effort has also established Thailand's first Smart Tax Kiosk to accommodate both Thai and foreign customers.

Speaking about the collaboration, Siam Commercial Bank Chairman of the Executive Committee Dr. Vichit Suraphongchai said that SCB is very pleased with today's celebration. As long-term strategic partners, SCB and The Mall Group are bringing about a major retail business transformation. Combining The Mall Group's vision of creating a superior shopping experience and SCB's strategy of developing digital platforms through business alliances to effectively respond to customer lifestyles, this cooperation marks yet another historic chapter for the Retail 4.0 era.Retail 4.0 will see full-fledged cashless shopping in Thailand for the first time, providing convenience for both Thai and foreign shoppers.

It also demonstrates SCB's commitment in creating a cashless society for retail businesses, which have recorded high growth amid challenges arising from changing customer behaviors, especially shopping and payment methods, which are switching to digital systems in line with technological advancements. Retail businesses are one of the seven target industries that the Bank would like to bring into the cashless ecosystem using technologies to help strengthen competitiveness.

The Mall Group Co., Ltd. Chairwoman Ms. Supaluck Umpujh, in her capacity as a manager of Thailand's leading shopping complex and department stores comprising The Mall, The Emporium, The Emquatier, Siam Paragon, and Bluport Hua Hin, said that the cooperation with SCB under "The First Cashless Retail Experience" slogan is regarded as an important chapter for department stores and shopping complexes in Thailand. The joint effort to develop a digital platform has been adapted to initiate a cashless shopping experience for the first time in Thailand at The Mall Group's department stores and shopping complexes.

Technology is the key target achievement driver for retail business development in the 4.0 era, combining both evolution and revolution to achieve targets. The Mall Group is utilizing technology to increase customer convenience in order to provide more effective services for target groups. Retail 4.0 development is meant to better meet customer requirements under the customer-centric concept, especially those of Generation Y and Millennials, whose digital lifestyles demand clarity, convenience, and speed.

By using advanced automated technologies to create a cashless society the collaboration is regarded as another major facelift for Thailand's retail business in line with current global trends. QR payments will be implemented at all Gourmet Market and Food Hall outlets, while Smart Self-Check-out Kiosks will be installed at Gourmet Markets. In addition, Smart Tax Kiosks will enable foreign tourists to obtain VAT refunds, and full tax invoices for Thai customers. Apart from increasing convenience for a new generation of consumers, The Mall Group will benefit from increasing frequency of shopping and the expansion of their customer base to the new generation. The development of online systems will provide optimal benefits for consumers in the future. Most importantly, the use of technology to strengthen competitiveness will also affirm The Mall Group's retail business leadership. This strategic partnership serves to combine the synergy of The Mall Group's retail business leadership and SCB's leadership in financial business to truly raise Thailand's economy to the level required for Thailand 4.0.

From SCB's vision and potential, we are confident that this cooperation will create a new shopping experience, reaffirming the bank's leadership in driving business to the First Cashless Retail Experience in the 4.0 era.

Digital payment systems implemented by SCB and The Mall Group comprise: · Smart Self-Check-Out Kiosks for cashless payments at all Gourmet Market outlets.

· Gourmet Cashiers for QR payments (in addition to credit and debit cards) at cashier counters of all Gourmet Market outlets.

· SCB Money App for QR payments at more than 500 merchants at Food Hall and Take Home.

· Smart Tax Kiosks to accommodate foreign customers for VAT refunds using only passports and receipts, and Thai customers for full tax invoices using only ID cards.

The above initiatives will drive retail businesses to this new reality for the first time in Thailand, and be ready for service from December 2017. SCB hopes that the cooperation will encourage consumers to increasingly switch to cashless methods. The Mall Group also expects to increase its customer base at its department stores, especially with a new generation keen on digital lifestyles.