The board of logistics provider Thailand Post has given the nod to the state agency participating in the planned virtual bank business, according to president Dhanant Subhadrabandhu.
Thailand Post will explore two paths to take part in the business, including seeking shares in a consortium applying for the Bank of Thailand's virtual bank licences.
The state agency could also act as a neutral virtual banking agent to complement the operations of all the virtual banks.
Thailand Post wants to take part in virtual banking to seek new business opportunities, capitalising on its 1,600 branches nationwide and its door-to-door delivery network of 25,000 postmen who are familiar with local communities.
Mr Dhanant said the logistics company is in talks with some consortiums that have expressed interest in applying for a virtual bank licence next month. He declined to name the consortiums.
Mr Dhanant said the state agency's direct participation in a consortium could expand Thailand Post's business ecosystem and support the operations of lenders.
"One targeted customer group of virtual banks is migrant workers, in addition to Thais who do not have a pay slip from their employers," he said.
Thailand Post is also in talks with some potential consortiums to explore the possibility of acting as a neutral banking agent, said Mr Dhanant.
The company could develop its neutral banking agent system to serve virtual banks in exchange for operational fees, he said.
Although virtual banks mainly provide services digitally, Thailand Post branches and postmen can support their operations, especially for unbanked customers or migrant labour, said Mr Dhanant. The company's postmen can help these segments deposit cash in the virtual banking system, he said.
Thailand Post can also support virtual banks by offering various services to customers through its branches nationwide.
The company operates a banking agent service for all banks, allowing people to deposit or withdraw money at its branches.
"I think the first priority of virtual banks is to draw deposits into the system with attractive interest rates, before launching products and services to capture underserved and unserved people," said Mr Dhanant.
FIVE POTENTIAL GROUPS
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. The application deadline is Sept 19.
VGI, the advertising and financial services arm of BTS Group, recently expressed interest in virtual banking through a partnership with Bangkok Bank, with Jaymart another potential partner.
The other three consortiums include SCB X, the 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 Asian e-payment and financial services provider.
Gulf is partnering with Krungthai Bank, Advanced Info Service, and PTT Oil and Retail Business.