The Bank of Thailand has announced a project to develop a prototype payment system for businesses using the Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), which will build upon knowledge from Project Inthanon.
The project's scope will include conducting a feasibility study and developing a process to integrate CBDC with companies' payment platforms, the central bank said in a release.
The Bank of Thailand recognises and supports the role of financial innovation and technology in enhancing the competitiveness and readiness of the business sector in the digital age.
The project marks an important step in broadening CBDC's scope and adoption by a wider audience, starting with large corporations.
Under the project, the CBDC prototype will be integrated with the procurement and financial management systems of Siam Cement Plc and its suppliers. The systems were developed by Digital Ventures Co Ltd.
The prototype is expected to enable higher payment efficiency and increased flexibility for fund transfers, delivering faster and more agile payments between suppliers.
The project will begin in July and is to conclude by year-end, after which the Bank of Thailand will publish a project summary.
Project Inthanon is a collaborative project of the central bank and eight leading financial institutions to study and develop a proof-of-concept for domestic wholesale funds transfer using CBDC.
The task was accomplished in January with the successful completion of a cross-border transfer prototype co-developed with the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA).
In the next step, the Bank of Thailand and the HKMA, along with participating financial institutions, will continue to collaborate and experiment with CBDC on other use cases in cross-border transfers.
The Bank of Thailand strongly believes that continuous collaborations and development in financial innovation with the business sector will lay the foundation in building technological capacity and readiness for financial services and businesses rapidly entering the digital age.