In January, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) published a consultation paper on Virtual Bank Licensing Framework to introduce digital banks as a new financial services provider. The BoT plans to issue up to three virtual banking licenses in mid-2024, allowing applications from non-financial firms and financial institutions, including joint ventures with foreign partners.
Qualifications as a digital bank in Thailand include possessing the technology, digital services, and data analytics expertise as detailed by the BoT. Banks are required to offer financial services with new value propositions through digital channels, lower bank branch costs, limit glitches to no more than eight hours a year, and solve any errors within two hours.
It is hoped that digital banks will expand loan access to borrowers and promote financial inclusion efforts through reduced fees for underserved retail and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and consumers. In April 2022, Thailand recorded 75 million mobile bank accounts and 9.6 billion transactions. Almost 90% of its consumers use some form of contactless payment.
