Thailand’s first three virtual banks approved

[Gaybutton]

If you don't know what a virtual bank is - "Virtual banks are banks that operate only online, with no physical branches."

That is how WISE operates.

I'm wondering how this will work for farang. Thailand has made it so difficult for farang to open a Thai bank account, perhaps farang opening a virtual Thai bank account would be acceptable. With a virtual bank account you can do all the usual transactions. If Thailand allows farang to open an account, that could solve a lot of problems, including showing immigration that you have a Thai bank account.
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Thailand’s first three virtual banks approved

Groups led by SCB X, KTB and CP expected to help modernise Thai finance sector

by Wichit Chantanusornsiri

June 19, 2025

The Ministry of Finance has approved three successful applicants to establish the first virtual banks in the country, the Bank of Thailand announced on Thursday.

The new banks will start business operations within one year from the date of approval, the central bank said in a statement on Thursday. Virtual banks are banks that operate only online, with no physical branches.

According to the statement, the first winner is ACM Holding Co (TrueMoney), which is backed by the CP Group. The second is Krungthai Bank (KTB), collaborating with Advanced Info Service and PTT Oil and Retail Business Plc (OR).

The third successful applicant is the SCB X consortium, comprising the holding company of Siam Commercial Bank, KakaoBank (South Korea’s largest digital bank), and WeBank (a global digital bank known for its advanced technology).

The successful applicants were selected after a rigorous review by the finance ministry and the central bank, from a total of five submissions received between March 20 and Sept 19 last year.

The two unsuccessful applicants are the Shopee consortium, led by Sea Ltd (Shopee’s parent company), along with Bangkok Bank, VGI (an advertising and financial services arm of BTS Group), Thailand Post and Saha Group; and the Lighthub Asset consortium, in collaboration with WeLab.

The central bank said Thursday’s “landmark decision” is aimed at modernising the financial sector and improving access to digital financial services for underserved groups.

Key areas of consideration included the applicants’ qualifications, business plans, and technological capacity to offer digital-first financial services that enhance efficiency, competition and accessibility.

Particular focus was given to the ability of virtual banks to serve unbanked and underbanked segments, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), as well as retail customers, said the central bank.

It noted that the move is designed to stimulate healthy competition in the banking sector while maintaining financial system stability.

Transparency and equal treatment of all applicants were prioritised throughout the selection process. The BoT said it conducted a thorough, standardised review and put in place protocols to prevent conflicts of interest among those involved in the decision-making process.

The approved applicants must now form public limited companies and comply with specific conditions set by the Finance Ministry.

They will also be required to undergo a readiness assessment by the BoT before they can apply for a final operating licence.

https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/ge ... s-approved

[Dodger]

All coming at the same time that AI is ramping up and hackers are sharpening their skills.
What could go wrong?

I don't use on-line banking now because of my concerns with security risks. I know that most disagree with this position - but my decision is concrete.

[Gaybutton]

What could go wrong?

Nothing.

Virtual banking is nothing new. I have never heard of anyone encountering any problems with it, including hacker problems.

You're not the only one skeptical about anything having to do with online banking. Your choice, of course, but the only times I've heard of anyone having any problem was when they used ATMs that had been rigged. Sometimes people get into trouble when they fall for scams and give away their banking information to con artists or when they fall for the Dr. Mwenene Mweleke from Nigeria scams - the ones that want put US $45-million into your bank account.

I'm sure you and everyone else on this board are intelligent enough to know better and not fall for these scams.

In other words, nothing to worry about. Of course the people who boarded the unsinkable Titanic thought they had nothing to worry about either . . .

[Jun]

My main UK bank has no branches. My main savings account is with a bank that has no branches. My stock trading accounts are entirely online.

I see no difference in hacking risk between those and my Kasikorn account, where the latter obviously still has branches.

I also can't think of a rational reason why Thailand should have different criteria for opening virtual bank accounts to traditional ones.

[Dodger]

I also can't think of a rational reason why Thailand should have different criteria for opening virtual bank accounts to traditional ones.

Because doing it the right way would be completely contrary to how they do everything else.

Now I know what the very first Thai boy I hooked up with meant when he said "this Thailand...don't think too much".

[Dodger]

What could go wrong?

Nothing.

Virtual banking is nothing new. I have never heard of anyone encountering any problems with it, including hacker problems.

Nor have I to be honest, but I just have this engrained trust issue with anything that has to do with Thais and management of on-line systems.

When I was working in the U.S. everything I did was on-line, including all of my personal banking, bill paying, etc. because I simply didn't have the time to do it any other way. But now that I'm retired I actually look for things to do just to keep busy. So going to the bank once a month is no inconvenience whatsoever.