Mr Chew says the company has been encouraging customers to go cashless for six years.

McThai Ltd, the operator of McDonald's restaurants in Thailand, is ramping up its efforts to cash in on the cashless society drive.

McThai also plans to invest 800 million to 1 billion baht this year on business expansion, aiming to generate double-digit sales growth.

Hester Chew, chairman of the executive committee and chief executive, said McThai recently expanded its digital payment platform by partnering with mPay, Blue Pay, AliPay and TrueMoney Wallet to provide payment at McDonald's branches via QR code.

The new payment service aims to support the government's e-payment master plan, he said.

In keeping with changing consumer behaviour, the company bills itself as an early adopter of cashless payments, starting with Visa payWave through electronic data capture in 2011 via Bangkok Bank Plc, before expanding to Rabbit Card and Rabbit Line Pay in 2013 and 2016, respectively.

In November 2017, customers could use QR code payments including mPay and Blue Pay, while Alipay and TrueMoney Wallet will be made available this quarter.

The company aims to drive the proportion of cashless payment to 50% of the total by year-end.

"Over the last six years, we have been encouraging customers to pay for McDonald's via electronic payments such as credit cards and Rabbit Cards," Mr Chew said. "The popularity of digital payments continues to increase. The proportion of cashless payment at McDonald's significantly increased to 30% in 2017, up from 5-6% in the past 3-4 years."

In addition to its focus on cashless payment service, Mr Chew said the company is also set to use digital media in its marketing activities.

Recently, the company installed automatic self-ordering kiosks and digital menu boards -- the first of their kind in Southeast Asia -- to offer greater convenience and enhance the customer experience.

At the same time, McDonald's has developed and enhanced its website and mobile phone application to let customers choose menu items more easily.

The app has been downloaded more than 200,000 times, a figure that the company expects to reach 500,000 by year-end.

For the potential 1-billion-baht expansion this year, Mr Chew said 100 million will be spent on the company's IT system and the rest on opening 15-20 branches in Greater Bangkok and major cities upcountry.

As of December, there were 252 McDonald's branches nationwide. Of the total, 82 stores have drive-through, 116 fit the 24-hour service model and the rest belong to other formats.

McThai will also continue its focus on driving employee engagement through its "Step Up" corporate culture model, strong training programmes and operational procedures to ensure optimal customer experience, including good food, the convenience of its drive-through and 24-hour service, McDelivery, online ordering and cashless payments, Mr Chew said.

He said the company expects sales to reach double-digit growth this year after reporting only single-digit growth in 2017, citing better economic conditions.

He did not disclose exact figures for last year.