Telecommunications and banker associations will next month start joining forces for the handling of electronic money transfers and mobile banking services, as they prepare for security risk management control.
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the collaboration between the Telecommunications Association of Thailand (TCT) and the Thai Bankers' Association (TBA) is due to be signed on May 2.
The signing ceremony will be witnessed by the Bank of Thailand and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission, said NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith.
"The collaboration is aimed at ensuring security protection when using digital financial services and preventing the risks of fraud online as a cashless society emerges," he said.
A source at the TCT said the MoU will focus on three areas of cooperation between the two associations that govern the telecommunication and banking industries.
The first area covers preventive measures on easing the inconvenience of conducting digital financial activities by prepaid mobile users.
Under PromptPay, people can transfer money online to recipients who hold accounts at different banks or even at the same banks in cross-clearing zones free of charge.
Users are required to link their ID card or mobile phone numbers to their bank accounts at participating banks.
However, the source said problems may occur when prepaid mobile users who signed up for PromptPay with mobile phone numbers they later terminate without deregistering the mobile numbers.
Mobile numbers are resold in the market but they cannot be used for signing up PromptPay service again until the former users of the numbers directly contact the banks to deregister the PromptPay service that previously linked the mobile numbers to the bank accounts.
The source said the two associations need to jointly create awareness for people to deregister their PromptPay services if they want to terminate the bank account link.
The associations will provide additional channels for the reimbursement of unused prepaid calling credit to customers who have terminated their mobile phone service, further limiting the possible inconveniences caused by PromptPay.
Mr Takorn said the NBTC needs all mobile operators to ensure that customers will receive their money within a proper period, such as 30 days, via PromptPay after contacting their mobile operators.
Telecom operators refund unused credit via cheque or money transfer to the customers' bank accounts or new SIM cards if customers switch service to other mobile networks.
The second collaboration under the MoU will involve measures to ensure mobile banking services are safe and secure.
The last area of cooperation will include the establishment of a single information pool of mobile banking users to enhance the security of mobile-based authentication. The move serves to ensure a higher level of security, the TCT source said.