Thailand’s Ministry of Finance ( MOF ) has awarded virtual banking licences to three groups, more than a year after it opened applications to interested parties. 

Bank of Thailand ( BOT ), the country’s central bank which advised the MOF on the decision, says the groups are led by ACM Holding, Krungthai Bank, and SCB X.

ACM Holding Group is a subsidiary of Charoen Pokphand ( CP ) Group, which also owns Ascend Money, the operator of the TrueMoney e-wallet service.

The consortium led by SCB X, the fintech arm of Siam Commercial Bank, includes WeBank, a prominent digital bank from China, and KakaoBank, a South Korea-based lender.

The group led by state-owned lender Krungthai Bank also counts telco giant AIS and PTT Group, through PTT Oil and Retail Business Public Company Limited, as its members. 

The three groups were chosen from a group of five applicants. In its announcement, the BOT states that it has reviewed the applications and found the three groups to have the most promising business plans and capabilities, which will provide the Thai public with financial services offering new value propositions, as well as products that enhance the efficiency of existing financial services through digital channels. 

“This aims to ensure that virtual banks would serve diverse needs of each customer segment, particularly the unserved and underserved segments of retail and SMEs customers, and provide better customer experience, as well as introduce financial innovations and improved financial services that help promote healthy competition in the system both in terms of quality and price,” the BOT says. 

The three qualified banks will now have a year to begin business operations. Additionally, they are also required to establish a public limited company, while also complying with certain conditions imposed by the MOF.

While the three groups have been granted provisional digital banking licences, they must still pass the readiness assessment by the central bank, before they will be granted full virtual bank licences, the BOT adds.