Krungthai Bank (KTB), a developer of the Pao Tang digital payment application, aims to offer digital loans on the mobile app next year.
The bank is studying an expansion of the app to provide digital loans from 2023, said KTB president Payong Srivanich.
The Pao Tang app has around 40 million users and offers several digital payment services. The app was initially developed to support the government's social welfare and economic stimulus schemes during the pandemic.
Other services have been added to the app, including an investment channel for gold and bond products. Financial transactions on Pao Tang total around 100 billion baht.
KTB, Thailand's third-largest lender by assets, collaborated with its technology subsidiary Krungthai Infinitas to launch the e-wallet feature named Paotang Pay on the app Tuesday. The new feature focuses mainly on the younger generation and aims to have 5 million users by 2023, he said.
"In addition to the Pao Tang super-app, we aim to grow Paotang Pay into a local super-wallet within three years," Mr Payong said.
He said the bank would continue to strengthen its digital technology foundation and build up a comprehensive ecosystem under a partnership strategy. Stronger fundamentals would pave the way for a long-term digital banking expansion in all areas, said Mr Payong.
KTB has an IT investment budget of 10-12 billion baht per year.
The bank is concentrating on building up its digital ecosystem in five areas: government services, education, mass transport, healthcare and medical care, and payments. The country's payment system has shifted from traditional to digital payments over the past few years, in part because of the pandemic.
According to Bank of Thailand data, in September e-payments hit 400 transactions per user per year, compared with 312 transactions in 2021.
As of September, the number of internet and mobile banking accounts tallied 133 million, with total transactions of 2.14 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 48.6%, according to central bank data. The transaction value was 8.43 trillion baht, up 14.3% year-on-year.
In the same period there were 123 million e-wallet accounts. E-wallet transactions totalled 302 million per month, rising 38.5% year-on-year, with a total value of 53 billion baht, representing 19% growth, according to the central bank's data.