Subject: Summer Internship Offer · TamPay

Dear Earth,

Thank you for your application and for the thoughtful answers you gave during your interview. We are pleased offer you a place on our summer internship programme, will run from 3 April to 26 May.

As an intern, you will work closely with our product team. Your main task will be to interview street vendors and what difficulties they face with digital payments. You will also help to test new features and your findings to the team each week.

Interns work from 9:00 to 16:00, Monday to Friday, and receive an allowance of 300 baht per day to cover travel and meals. you are under 18, we will need written permission from a parent or guardian before you start.

Please confirm whether you accept this offer replying to this email by 20 March. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me.

We look forward to with you.

Best regards,
Fon Jirawat, Product Manager

What I Learned Selling Nothing · by Earth Phongsri

When I started my internship at a start-up, I to spend my summer writing code. Instead, I spent most of it standing next to woks and noodle carts, asking vendors about their lives.

At first I did not understand why. My mentor explained that the biggest risk for a start-up is something that nobody needs. To avoid that, you must understand people’s real problems you design a solution.

One vendor, Pa Daeng, told me that she could not check her phone while frying noodles. Some customers took advantage of this and left paying. Fifteen of the twenty vendors I interviewed had similar stories. That gave us the idea for a voice alert, which is now being tested in three markets.

I also learned that good businesses need good values. When our sales team wanted to sell vendors’ data, I was nervous about speaking . But my mentor listened, and the company decided to ask vendors for permission first. I realised that being honest is not only right; it is also good for business, customers stay with companies they trust.

I still want to study computer engineering. But I will never again think that technology alone problems. Behind every app, there are people, and their needs must come first.

this internship, I would not have learned that lesson so early.

TamPay Help · Voice Alerts (Test Version)

What are voice alerts? When a customer pays you by QR code, your phone will say the payment out loud, for example “Received fifty baht”.

How do I turn them on? Open TamPay, tap Settings, then Sound, and choose Voice alerts: On.

Can I hide the amount? Yes. Choose Private mode and your phone will only say “Payment received”. This is useful if you do not want nearby customers to hear how much you earn.

Which languages are available? Thai and English. Northern Thai and Isan dialects will be added in the next update.

Does it work without internet? No. Voice alerts need a mobile data or Wi-Fi connection. If your connection is lost, you will hear a warning beep.

Will it use more battery? Slightly. We recommend keeping your phone charged during busy hours.

The Quiet Revolution at the Noodle Cart

In less than a decade, Thailand has become one of the world’s leaders in instant digital payments. A national system launched in 2017 allows people to send money using only a phone number or a QR code, usually without any fee. Today it is common to see a printed QR code taped to a street vendor’s cart, next to the chilli sauce.

For many small sellers, the benefits are real. They no longer need to carry large amounts of cash, they have records of their income, and they can accept payment from customers who no longer carry cash at all. Some banks now use these payment records to offer small loans to vendors who previously had no official proof of income.

But the change has not been equally easy for everyone. Older vendors and those with basic phones sometimes struggle with the technology. Many sellers worry about fake payment screenshots, a common trick in which a customer shows an edited image instead of actually paying. And because every digital payment leaves a record, some vendors are anxious about how their data might be used, including by tax authorities.

Experts say that technology companies have a responsibility to design for the people who are most likely to be left behind. Simple features, such as voice alerts and large text, can make a significant difference. So can clear, honest explanations of what happens to users’ data.

The noodle cart may seem a small place for a revolution. But it is where millions of ordinary people meet the digital economy every day.

A Message to Our Vendors About Your Data

Dear TamPay vendors,

You trust us with something very important: the record of how you earn your living. We want to be clear about how we use that information.

Recently, a food company asked to buy information about sales at street stalls, such as which dishes sell best at different times of day. The company said the information would not include vendors’ names.

We have decided that we will not share any vendor’s data unless the vendor clearly agrees. Next month, you will see a question in the app asking whether you are willing to share anonymous sales information. You can say yes or no, and you can change your answer at any time. Saying no will not affect your account in any way.

If you agree, we will share part of the payment from the food company with participating vendors.

This decision came partly from conversations with vendors during our summer research. One of our interns reminded us that terms and conditions are not the same as real agreement, because very few people read them. He was right.

Thank you for trusting us. We intend to deserve it.

The TamPay Team