Jingjok
Scan to pay, even for a 40-baht soup
sà-gaaen jàai
Look at almost any counter in Thailand, from a mall café to a noodle cart, and you'll see a printed QR code. That is PromptPay, the national instant-transfer system linked to a phone or ID number. Thais pay with their banking app in seconds: สแกนจ่าย (scan to pay), show the 'successful' screen, done. Vendors usually glance at your screen to check the payment went through, so keep it open. To pay this way yourself you generally need a Thai bank account, which long-stay residents can open with the right visa and paperwork. Until then, carry cash: many stalls, markets and motorbike-taxi stands don't take cards at all. Ask before you order, not after.
Try this today
At a stall, point at the QR code and ask สแกนได้ไหม.
The words that carry it
Learn this in “Numbers and money” →
Your first 90 days of Thai
Culture cards in Jingjok are tied to the words that carry them, each ending in one thing to try today.
- WEEKS 1–2 · SURVIVEGreet anyone, pay, and order food and 7-Eleven exactly how you like it.
- WEEKS 3–6 · SETTLE INGet around by taxi, Grab and skytrain, find anything, and handle your landlord.
- WEEKS 7–12 · RUN YOUR LIFEPharmacy, bank, SIM and apps, how you feel, and a weekend away, all in Thai.
The first week is free.