The BOT gave approval to three of the applicants which are the Krungthai Bank consortium (including Gulf Energy, telecommunications provider AIS, and PTT Oil and Retail), the SCB X consortium (parent of Siam Commercial Bank collaborating with South Korea’s KakaoBank and China’s WeBank) and Ascend Money, the financial arm of the conglomerate CP Group, which is backed by Ant International. The details of the successful applicants were forwarded to the Ministry of Finance for final approval, which is expected by mid-2025. These successful applicants will then have one year to prepare for business operations as part of a phased process which will potentially lead to the launch of their digital banking services in mid-2026.
Among the unsuccessful applicants were the Shopee consortium led by Sea Group in collaboration with the BTS Group, as well as the Lightnet Group in partnership with Hong Kong-based WeLab.
The entry of digital banks to Thailand will likely boost competition, bring down costs, and enhance financial inclusion in the Thai banking sector by providing more easily accessible digital financial services. Each of the successful applicants has highlighted financial inclusion as one of the key value propositions they will deliver upon, with slight variations on how they intend to achieve this goal.
The Krungthai consortium combines the strengths of a major Thai bank with the digital capabilities and retail network of AIS and PTTOR. Ascend Money will tap into its TrueMoney app with 32 million users to reach underserved populations and small businesses. TrueMoney currently provides digital lending products, such as Pay Next, under a digital loan license from the central bank and these products could be the foundation for its upcoming digital banking services. Additionally, the SCB X consortium will leverage the expertise of its leading digital bank partners, KaKaoBank and WeBank, in digital financial services, user experience, and user interface design.
However, experience has shown that trying to replicate strategic plans from one Asian market to another is by no means a guaranteed formula for success. And conversely, it may lull decision makers into a false sense of security. For the consortiums poised to launch digital banks in Thailand, local knowledge and expertise instead will play a pivotal role. This is especially pertinent given that the new digital banks will be targeting underserved communities which often have financial behavior and preferences that are unique to the local context. Thus, success for these new digital banks will likely hinge on how closely and collaboratively they can work with local Thai partners at the grassroots level and incorporate local nuances into the development and implementation of their digital financial services.