Thailand launches WORPT wallet letting tourists convert USDT and USDC into baht

In short

• Thailand launched WORPT on 26 October 2026, letting tourists convert USDT and USDC into baht for PromptPay QR payments, Bitcoin.com says.
• Every conversion costs 1.5% including VAT, plus a fixed 5 baht fee per QR payment, according to a fee schedule seen by InvestIn.News.
• Merchants receive baht, not crypto, with Tether, Visa and The Mall Group supporting the project.
• Visa prepaid cards are due mid-November 2026, with an official launch event planned in November.

What WORPT does

WORPT, a digital wallet for foreign visitors to Thailand, went live on 26 October 2026, letting them turn the stablecoins USDT and USDC into Thai baht that can be spent over the PromptPay QR network, Bitcoin.com reports. It runs inside the Tourist DigiPay regulatory sandbox, overseen by Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission and Digipay. The app was developed by Waan Exchange, a licensed digital asset exchange and broker supervised by Thailand's SEC, and Wipay, a licensed e-money provider regulated by the Bank of Thailand.

At the time of writing (07:45 UTC on 27 October 2026), Bitcoin (BTC) traded at $79,538, down 0.89% in 24 hours, with a market value of $1.6tn, according to InvestIn.News market data.

What tourists pay in fees

Using WORPT costs a 1.5% fee on each conversion, including VAT, plus a fixed 5 baht fee for every PromptPay QR payment, according to a fee schedule seen by InvestIn.News. That makes small purchases comparatively expensive: a 100 baht item carries a 5% fee, while a 1,700 baht purchase works out to about 0.29%.

How merchants get paid

Thai businesses never handle cryptocurrency themselves. WORPT changes the stablecoins into baht and pays merchants in the local currency through the country's existing PromptPay system, Yonhap reported. Shops simply scan a QR code as they normally would to be paid in baht, and they need no knowledge of crypto or any wallet address, Tiger Brokers reported. Because Thailand has for years barred crypto assets from everyday purchases of goods and services, the sandbox offers a special route.

Partners, cards and spending caps

The launch brings together Tether, the issuer of USDT, payments network Visa, and The Mall Group, one of Thailand's largest retail operators. WORPT is preparing physical and virtual Visa prepaid cards, with a physical card expected in mid-November 2026 and a virtual card in early 2027, according to Tiger Brokers. The spending caps belong to the wider TouristDigiPay scheme rather than to WORPT itself: under the scheme introduced by Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Pichai Chunhavajira, small vendors can take up to 50,000 baht (about $1,540) a month, while merchants that complete extra verification can take up to 500,000 baht ($15,400), according to Thai Embassy and Consulates.

What co-founders say and next steps

Pavin Jittiwongsamarn, co-founder of WORPT, said the goal is to let international travellers make practical use of the cryptocurrencies they already hold while visiting Thailand. Janeboon Roonnaphaya, another co-founder, said cryptocurrencies have long been viewed as assets for holding and trading, and what makes this significant is their move toward practical utility in everyday life. WORPT and its partners plan an official launch event and panel discussion in November 2026.

Timeline

• 26 Oct 2026: WORPT app goes live under the Tourist DigiPay sandbox
• 26 Oct 2026: WORPT issues its launch announcement through PRNewswire
• 27 Oct 2026: Bitcoin.com reports the launch details

Questions readers ask

What is the WORPT crypto payment app in Thailand?

WORPT is a digital wallet launched on 26 October 2026 that lets foreign tourists convert USDT and USDC into Thai baht for payments through Thailand's PromptPay QR network. It was built by Waan Exchange and Wipay under the Tourist DigiPay regulatory sandbox, with merchants receiving baht instead of crypto.

What fees do tourists pay to use WORPT in Thailand?

Tourists pay a 1.5% fee on each conversion, including VAT, plus a fixed 5 baht fee for every PromptPay QR payment, according to a fee schedule seen by InvestIn.News. This makes small purchases costly, as a 100 baht item carries a 5% fee.

When will WORPT launch Visa prepaid cards?

WORPT is preparing physical and virtual Visa prepaid cards. A physical card is expected in mid-November 2026 and a virtual card in early 2027, according to Tiger Brokers. Users will share one baht balance across QR payments and card transactions.

Who is behind the WORPT wallet in Thailand?

WORPT was jointly developed by Waan Exchange, a licensed digital asset exchange and broker regulated by Thailand's SEC, and Wipay, a licensed e-money provider regulated by the Bank of Thailand. Tether, Visa and The Mall Group are partners.

Our view

At InvestIn.News, we think Thailand's WORPT launch is mostly a tourism play with only a thin layer of real crypto utility. Foreign visitors can turn USDT or USDC into baht for PromptPay QR payments, but merchants still receive baht, not crypto. The 1.5% conversion fee including VAT, plus a fixed 5 baht fee per QR payment, makes small purchases costly. A 100 baht item carries a 5% fee, which is a real barrier for everyday use.

The sandbox is a controlled experiment rather than broad crypto adoption. Thai authorities have long banned using crypto for everyday goods and services, and WORPT operates under the Tourist DigiPay sandbox with spending caps and identity checks. That is a sensible regulatory test, not the arrival of crypto payments on main street.

We will treat WORPT as real adoption only if actual tourist usage grows beyond the launch period, fees are lowered, or the sandbox is extended to Thai residents. The November 2026 launch event and Visa prepaid card rollout will provide early evidence.

Follow the latest as it happens on Stablecoins NewsFeeds.

Jayshree Majumdar

What to watch: WORPT and its partners plan an official launch event and panel discussion in November 2026, and a physical Visa prepaid card is expected in mid-November 2026.