According to the reports of Bloomberg, the Bank Of Thailand has disclosed its plan to establish a virtual bank in the country for the first time. The financial institution aims to provide or activate services by the year 2025. By establishing virtual banks Thailand seeks to strengthen competition and economic growth.
The central bank also plans to publish a “Consultation Paper on Virtual Bank Licensing Framework” by the end of the year 2023. It would allow virtual banks to serve as financial service providers and focuses on boosting Thailand’s overall economy.
Furthermore, it is reported that the Bank of Thailand will also issue three different licenses for all interested companies by next year. So far it is reported that at least 10 parties are interested in granting permissions. Alongside this, the regulations and supervision for virtual banks would be similar to traditional commercial banks under the licensing framework.
As per Thailand’s Central Bank, the virtual banks will be under the “restricted phase” during the first year of their operations. This means there would be close monitoring of them to prevent financial systematic risks. Furthermore, the country’s Securities and Exchange Commission also plans to tighten the rules for crypto to expand investor protection. It also plans to set strict rules and regulations for crypto Advertisements.
Thailand has already laid the foundation for a number of crypto-related development projects in 2022. This includes the plan to pilot a central bank digital currency for approximately 10,000 users. Alongside, the Global Crypto Adoption Index published by Chainalysis reported that Thailand is ranked eighth in the race for crypto adoption globally.
