BoT sets out plan to issue up to 3 virtual banking licences

The Bank of Thailand plans to grant up to three virtual banking licences in the first stage of its digital plans, and will allow both financial institutions and non-financial firms to apply.

The central bank plans to provide a list of up to three qualified licence holders to the Finance Ministry for approval. The bank said three was an appropriate number to generate competition in the industry and to allow effective supervision.

The ministry and the Bank of Thailand plan to closely monitor the operations of the new licence holders. The central bank said it will consider more licence applications in the future if additional players meet the requirements of virtual banks.

The Bank of Thailand kicked off public hearings for a consultation paper on the virtual bank licensing framework yesterday, which will run until Feb 12. The central bank plans to finalise the…