BANGKOK: With Thailand’s geographic advantage for trade and investment in Asean, local banks are keen to flex their muscles in the cross-border payment business, particularly in neighbouring markets. Among them is the Bank of Ayudhya (BAY), the country’s fifth-largest commercial bank by assets, which plans to provide cross-border payment service in Myanmar via a collaboration with a local bank, said Thakorn Piyapan, head of digital banking and innovation at BAY. BAY is in the process of developing its own cross-border payment system, which is expected to be completed soon, said Mr Thakorn, who is also head of Krungsri Consumer, the bank’s unsecured lending arm.
BAY expects to roll out the service in the first quarter of next year after it gains approval from the Bank of Thailand, he said without providing further details. “Myanmar migrants who work here and want to remit money to their families back home are the key target group. With the new technology, fees charged for the cross-border payment service are expected to be lower than the current rates,” Mr Thakorn said. Kasikornbank (KBank) is another bank positioning itself as a leader in payment and settlement in Asean under its 2017 world business plan.
The bank’s cross-border payment service will be offered to both individual and commercial customers with a focus on Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, said Teeranun Srihong, the president of KBank. The bright outlook for intra-Asean migration, trade and investment will widen cross-border payment business opportunities for the bank.
Thailand’s fourth-largest bank by assets is offering cross-border payment and settlement services in Laos and Cambodia, where it has a presence, through a network of local banks. Apart from cross-border payment service to be developed by each bank, the Thai Bankers’ Association has also put cross-border payment in its roadmap in an effort to improve the service as well as reduce expenses and fees.
