Five business groups are expected to apply for the Bank of Thailand's virtual bank licences, including both Thai and regional operators.
According to a source in the fintech industry who requested anonymity, five consortiums have expressed interest in applying for a licence, including SeaMoney Thailand, which offers digital financial services, payments and lending through ShopeePay and SPayLater in the Thai market.
Shopee, the leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia and Taiwan, is owned by Singapore's Sea Group. Sea Group also operates MariBank, a digital bank in Singapore, which has a full digital bank licence granted by the Monetary Authority of Singapore.
The Bank of Thailand plans to issue three virtual bank licences in the initial phase, although the Finance Ministry suggested the number should not be limited.
The central bank requires a minimum registered capital of 5 billion baht for a virtual bank, later increasing to 10 billion.
The application deadline is Sept 19.
VGI, the advertising and financial services arm of BTS Group, recently expressed an interest in virtual banking through a partnership with a major local financial institution. Bangkok Bank (BBL), the country's largest lender by total assets, and Jaymart are expected to be potential partners.
BBL president Chartsiri Sophonpanich recently refrained from commenting on the market's expectations, noting the bank is adopting digital services as customer expectations change.
He said the bank is exploring opportunities in virtual banking as part of its transition to digital services.
The other three consortiums include SCB X, the financial technology conglomerate and holding company of Siam Commercial Bank, Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group, and Gulf Energy Development.
SCB X is collaborating with KakaoBank, South Korea's largest digital bank, to form a consortium to apply for a virtual bank licence. This consortium also partnered with WeBank, a leading global digital bank known for its advanced technology.
CP Group intends to operate a virtual bank service under TrueMoney, a Southeast Asia e-payment and financial services provider. They plan to leverage CP Group's retail channels, such as 7-Eleven convenience stores, and collaborate with Ant Group, an affiliate of China's Alibaba Group. Ant Group is also a shareholder of CP's Ascend Group, which owns TrueMoney.
Gulf is partnering with Krungthai Bank (KTB), Advanced Info Service, and PTT Oil and Retail Business.
KTB president Payong Srivanich recently announced that the consortium plans to submit its virtual bank licence application about two weeks ahead of the central bank's deadline.