Thailand’s regulatory sandbox for blockchain-based payments continues to evolve, with KASIKORNBANK (KBank) announcing the expansion of its Q Wallet application to enable Thai travellers to pay at Singapore merchants by scanning GrabPay QR codes. The service uses KBank’s Q-money, whichi is Thai Baht e-money on a blockchain, with transactions settled against the XSGD stablecoin issued by Singapore’s StraitsX.
KBank and StraitsX first partnered in late 2024 on an initial trial that allowed Thai tourists visiting Singapore to scan PayNow and Grab QR codes to pay at local merchants. In the background, the Baht-denominated Q-money was converted to XSGD so that merchants received instant settlement in Singapore dollars. At the time, the collaboration was framed as one of several KBank blockchain experiments, alongside a separate partnership with JP Morgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments for B2B cross border transfers.
The new announcement formalizes the arrangement as a three way strategic partnership between KBank, StraitsX and Grab, with Grab now explicitly named as a partner rather than simply being one of the QR code networks that Singapore merchants happen to support. This gives Thai travellers access to Grab’s extensive merchant network across Singapore.
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