Thailand names three successful virtual bank applicants

They will need to begin business operations by June 2026.

Three applicants have successfully clinched approval from the Bank of Thailand (BOT) to establish a virtual bank in the country.

In a statement, the central bank named AMC Holding Company Limited; a cohort including Krung Thai Bank, Advanced Info Service, and PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company Limited; and a cohort consisting of SCB X, WeTechnology Limited, and Kakaobank Corp.

SCB X is the parent of Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thailand’s oldest bank. KakaoBank is a profitable digital bank based in South Korea, whilst WeTechnology is the Hong Kong headquarters of WeBank, a Shenzhen-founded bank and China's first digital bank.

Another cohort involves Krung Thai Bank, a state-owned bank; Advanced Info Service, Thailand's largest mobile phone operator; and PTT Oil, a state-owned oil and gas company.

The virtual banks are required to begin business operations within one year from the date of the Minister of Finance’s approval, dated 19 June 2025, the BOT said in its statement.

The qualified applicants will need to establish a public limited company, pass the BOT’s readiness assessment, before submitting the request for a virtual bank license.

Amongst qualifications considered by the BOT and the Ministry of Finance are the business plans and capabilities of the applicants to “provide financial services with new value propositions”, or those who would improve the efficiency of existing financial services through digital channels.