Thailand Launches WORPT to Turn Tourists' Crypto Into Baht Payments

A tourism spending push built around Thailand's QR network

Thailand's new WORPT payment app is targeting 15 billion baht in tourist spending over an 18-month trial by letting foreign visitors turn cryptocurrency into baht and pay through Thai QR PromptPay without opening a Thai bank account. The service supports USDT and USDC, with shops receiving ordinary baht through existing payment channels.

WORPT announced that it was available on October 26, 2026, ahead of a November launch event. Developed by Waan Exchange and Wipay, it operates under Tourist DigiPay, a regulatory testing programme overseen by Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its arrival comes as foreign tourist numbers head toward a second consecutive annual decline and international tourism revenue weakens.

Wipay founder and WORPT co-founder Pavin Jittiwongsamarn expects 200,000 users in the first year, targeting cryptocurrency holders from South Korea, Japan, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. Figures presented at the November 13 launch instead put expected users at 150,000 over 18 months, while retaining the same 15 billion baht spending target.

The commercial appeal is straightforward: visitors can draw on digital assets they already own, while restaurants, hotels and retailers keep taking payment in the currency they use to pay staff and suppliers. Thailand is trying to turn easier payments into larger purchases and more income for local businesses.

The companies are also preparing physical and virtual Visa prepaid cards linked to the same baht balance. For now, the central service connects cryptocurrency conversion with the QR payment system already familiar to businesses across Thailand, rather than asking merchants to install a separate system for accepting digital tokens.

What the official announcement confirms

WORPT's October 26 announcement says Waan Exchange, also called Waanx, received SEC approval to participate in Tourist DigiPay. The company describes WORPT as Thailand's first application to launch services under that sandbox.

Waanx is a licensed digital asset exchange and broker regulated by the SEC. Wipay is a licensed electronic money provider regulated by the Bank of Thailand. Their different roles connect the sale of cryptocurrency with a baht balance that visitors can spend electronically.

Waan Exchange was founded by Chaval Jiaravanon, a member of Thailand's billionaire Chearavanont family. The launch also brings together Tether, the issuer of USDT, retailer The Mall Group and Visa.

Pavin Jittiwongsamarn, WORPT's co-founder, explained the intended use in the company announcement:

The key objective behind WORPT is to enable international travelers to make practical use of the cryptocurrencies they already have while visiting Thailand. We have therefore focused on connecting the entire process, from converting digital assets into Thai Baht to making payments for goods and services, providing travelers with greater convenience and more payment options throughout their journey.

How a visitor moves from crypto to a shop payment

Foreign tourists begin by verifying their identity, using a passport chip scan and a face check. They then connect an external digital asset wallet and deposit supported cryptocurrency. After conversion, baht goes into an electronic money wallet in the visitor's own name.

An electronic money wallet holds a spendable currency balance inside an app. In WORPT's case, that balance pays for purchases when a visitor scans a participating merchant's Thai QR PromptPay code. A Thai bank account is unnecessary, although identity checks still apply.

WORPT currently supports USDT and USDC. Both are stablecoins designed to track the US dollar, rather than assets whose prices are intended to move freely like Bitcoin. Service details identify Ethereum as the supported network, making the network used to send tokens part of the deposit process.

Merchants receive baht through Thailand's existing payment infrastructure. They do not need to receive tokens, manage cryptocurrency wallets or decide when to sell digital assets. Cryptocurrency funds the visitor's balance; baht completes the purchase.

WORPT is available through the App Store and Google Play and is intended for foreign tourists, not Thai nationals. The participating retail network includes The Mall Group, although a complete list of eligible merchants has not been published.

What tourists pay, and how limits work

WORPT's initial conversion fee is 1.5%, with service details describing that rate as including value added tax. At that rate, converting cryptocurrency worth 10,000 baht would carry a 150 baht conversion charge. The amount of baht received also depends on the exchange rate when the conversion takes place.

A reported WORPT wallet limit is 100,000 baht per person. Earlier TouristDigiPay plans announced in August 2025 described spending limits of 500,000 baht a month and 100,000 baht per transaction. Those figures govern different things: a wallet limit concerns the balance held, while transaction and monthly limits concern spending.

Cash withdrawals from the electronic wallet are not permitted under the programme's described rules. Visitors can instead request conversion of unused baht back into digital assets, with the assets returned to the same external wallet used for the original deposit.

The October company announcement confirms identity verification, transaction monitoring and measures against money laundering. More detailed descriptions include checks on a wallet's transaction history, often called know your transaction screening. These checks examine how funds have moved before they enter the service.

Tourists therefore gain a payment option without a local bank account, but still pass through a regulated financial process. Passport verification, the supported blockchain network, conversion charges and wallet limits all affect how much they can deposit and spend.

How the trial reached the November launch

TouristDigiPay developed through several stages before WORPT's public launch. The August 2025 policy announcement described a planned service, while September 2025 marked the opening of the sandbox and applications. Waanx's own participation approval followed in September 2026.

• August 18, 2025: Finance officials outlined TouristDigiPay, an initial 18-month test and a planned start in the final quarter of 2025.
• September 25, 2025: The SEC opened the sandbox and applications for participating operators, working with the Finance Ministry, the Anti-Money Laundering Office, tourism authorities and the Bank of Thailand.
• September 25, 2026: Waanx received approval to participate, according to details accompanying The Mall Group's rollout.
• October 26, 2026: WORPT announced that its app was available to international tourists.
• November 13, 2026: The public launch presented spending targets, retail partnerships and payment plans.
• Early 2027: WORPT plans to introduce its virtual Visa prepaid card.

Each approved operator can run its service for up to 18 months. The programme is a sandbox, meaning regulators allow a limited trial under specified conditions before deciding how the service should develop. Authorities planned to assess its performance when testing ends.

The next announced product step was a physical Visa prepaid card targeted for mid-November 2026, followed by the virtual version in early 2027. Both remained described as forthcoming in subsequent service information, so the announced timetable was still a plan.

Why The Mall Group matters to the test

The Mall Group is WORPT's first department store partner, giving the app a retail setting in which to test whether easier payment changes tourist behaviour. The retailer's spending mix is approximately 66% credit cards, 19% QR payments and 15% cash.

Those figures show why WORPT is entering an established electronic payments market. Cards and QR payments together account for 85% of spending across the group's department stores, compared with 15% in cash. WORPT seeks to give cryptocurrency holders access to those familiar payment channels.

Worarak Tulaporn, The Mall Group's chief marketing officer, said the trial would help the retailer study spending by nationality and basket size, meaning the value of purchases made in a shopping visit. The retailer also sees potential among visitors who stay in Thailand while working remotely.

The partnership sits alongside The Mall Group's other tourist services. Its Wi Wallet accepts funding from international payment cards, while its THIM partnership connects arrival preparation with shopping privileges. The retailer says THIM has more than 800,000 downloads and supports group Thailand Digital Arrival Card submissions for up to 20 people.

Shopping incentives accompany the payment push. Users of WORPT, Wi Wallet and THIM can claim tourist privileges and vouchers, including a 150 baht discount on qualifying purchases of at least 1,500 baht at Paragon Department Store and EM DISTRICT.

What the 15 billion baht target means

WORPT's projected 15 billion baht in payments is about US$440 million. It is a company forecast for transactions during the trial, rather than a tally of money already spent.

The November launch also projected 1.95 billion baht reaching local businesses and small and medium enterprises. That equals 13% of the 15 billion baht spending target. The forecast gives a more specific measure of the hoped for benefit outside major retail partners.

Waanx director Leon Sing Foong put the opportunity in terms of Thailand's wider tourism economy. He estimated that capturing 1% of tourism spending would represent about 17 billion baht, slightly above WORPT's own target.

Finance officials had set out a much broader ambition when TouristDigiPay was introduced. Then finance minister Pichai Chunhavajira used a scenario of 35 million visitors spending an extra 5,000 baht each to illustrate 175 billion baht in additional spending. That calculation covered the policy's potential across tourism, while WORPT's 15 billion baht forecast concerns its own service.

Thailand's challenge is to turn payment convenience into purchases that benefit businesses. The trial's transaction totals, retail purchase values and distribution of income to smaller operators will show different parts of that commercial result.

Cards would extend the same baht balance

WORPT's planned Visa prepaid cards would use the same baht balance as QR payments. According to the company announcement, visitors would not need to move money or top up separately when switching between the two channels.

A physical card would provide another way to pay at card terminals. A virtual card would support online payments. Both would extend the reach of money already converted into baht, rather than require a shop to accept cryptocurrency.

Tether's involvement connects the service with one of the issuers of its supported assets. Tether Thailand manager Bunviwee Plai Phan described the project as a way to bring stablecoins into everyday spending while allowing Thai businesses to continue receiving baht.

WORPT co-founder Janeboon Roonnaphaya described the starting point in the official announcement:

Historically, cryptocurrencies have largely been viewed as assets for holding and trading.

WORPT is attempting to build a practical spending route from those holdings. Bhutan and Brazil introduced similar services for foreign visitors in 2025, placing Thailand's trial within a wider effort to connect digital assets with tourism purchases.

What changes for visitors and businesses

Visitors who already hold supported stablecoins gain another route to paying for meals, accommodation and shopping. Leon Sing Foong identified tourists from India, Russia and South Korea as groups facing gaps in access to QR payments in Thailand. WORPT aims to reach people whose existing financial apps do not provide a convenient local option.

Thai businesses can receive the resulting purchases through their existing baht payment arrangements. A smaller merchant's opportunity comes from being reachable through ordinary QR acceptance, while a major retailer can combine the payment option with promotions and data about customer spending.

The government's longer term decision concerns whether the tested arrangement should continue or expand. At the policy launch, Finance Ministry permanent secretary Lavaron Sangsnit discussed higher conversion allowances after a successful trial, including for expensive assets. Those were proposed future changes, while the operating service remains subject to its trial conditions and limits.

WORPT's immediate task is more concrete: enrol eligible visitors, convert supported assets reliably and make baht payments work at the checkout. Its 18-month spending target puts a measurable commercial goal behind that test.

Key Points

• WORPT lets foreign tourists convert USDT and USDC into baht and pay through Thai QR PromptPay without a Thai bank account.
• The app operates under the SEC's Tourist DigiPay sandbox, combining licensed digital asset operator Waanx with electronic money provider Wipay.
• Merchants receive baht through existing payment channels.
• The initial conversion fee is 1.5%, and reported service terms set a wallet limit of 100,000 baht per person.
• WORPT targets 15 billion baht in spending over 18 months; user forecasts range from 150,000 over the trial to 200,000 in the first year.
• The Mall Group is the first department store partner, while physical and virtual Visa prepaid cards are planned to share the app's baht balance.