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October 2026 · 4 min read

Thailand's first virtual bank is open. Who signed its licence?

The Bank of Thailand assessed and advised; the Minister of Finance approved. The newest kind of bank in Thailand took the oldest route in Thai financial licensing.

Last reviewed

1

What happened

On 19 June 2025 the Minister of Finance, with the advice of the Bank of Thailand, approved three applicant groups to establish virtual banks under section 9 of the Financial Institution Businesses Act B.E. 2551 (2008), and gave each one year from approval to begin operations. The first virtual bank opened for business in June 2026, according to news reports. Virtual banks are supervised under BOT Notification FPG. 6/2567 of 6 September 2024.

2

Where it sits on the map

A virtual bank is a commercial bank without branches, so it follows the commercial-bank route: the Bank of Thailand assesses and advises, the Minister of Finance grants. The same two-signature route applies to licensed payment and e-money services (Payment Systems Act, section 16) and supervised personal loans.

Figure 8 — Thailand's financial regulatory landscapeThe Ministry of Finance signs most financial licences. Three sector regulators recommend: the Bank of Thailand (banks, payments, supervised lending, foreign exchange), the SEC (securities, funds, digital assets) and the Office of Insurance Commission (insurance). AMLO's anti-money laundering duties and the PDPC's data protection rules apply across all of them.MOFMinistry of FinanceSigns most licencesHOW A LICENCE IS GRANTED1 The regulator assesses and recommends2 The Minister of Finance grantsSome approvals stay with the regulator (below)BOTBank of ThailandCommercial and virtual banksPayment and e-money servicesSupervised lendingMoney changers and transfer agentsDIRECTRegisters some payment servicesSECSecurities and ExchangeCommissionSecurities brokers, dealers, underwritersFund managers and investment advisorsDigital asset exchanges, brokers, dealersCustodial wallets, DA fund managersDIRECTApproves ICO portalsOICOffice of InsuranceCommissionLife insurersNon-life insurersInsurance agentsInsurance brokersDIRECTRegistrar licenses agents and brokersRECOMMENDSRECOMMENDSRECOMMENDSAPPLIES ACROSS EVERY ROWAMLOAnti-Money Laundering OfficeCustomer due diligence and transaction reporting for financial institutions and listed businessesPDPCPersonal Data Protection CommitteeThe PDPA applies to businesses that collect, use or disclose personal data — licensed or not
Figure 8 — Thailand's financial regulatory landscapeThe Ministry of Finance signs most financial licences. Three sector regulators recommend: the Bank of Thailand (banks, payments, supervised lending, foreign exchange), the SEC (securities, funds, digital assets) and the Office of Insurance Commission (insurance). AMLO's anti-money laundering duties and the PDPC's data protection rules apply across all of them.MOFMinistry of FinanceSigns most licences1 The regulator assesses and recommends2 The Minister of Finance grantsBOTBank of ThailandCommercial and virtual banksPayment and e-money servicesSupervised lendingMoney changers and transfer agentsDirect: Registers some payment servicesSECSecurities and ExchangeCommissionSecurities brokers, dealers, underwritersFund managers and investment advisorsDigital asset exchanges, brokers, dealersCustodial wallets, DA fund managersDirect: Approves ICO portalsOICOffice of Insurance CommissionLife insurersNon-life insurersInsurance agentsInsurance brokersDirect: Registrar licenses agents and brokersAPPLIES ACROSS EVERY ROWAMLOAnti-Money Laundering OfficeCustomer due diligence and transaction reportingfor financial institutions and listed businessesPDPCPersonal Data Protection CommitteeThe PDPA applies to businesses that collect, use ordisclose personal data — licensed or not

Figure 8Thailand's financial regulatory landscape — the Bank of Thailand pathThe regulator recommends; for most licence families the Minister of Finance signs. AMLO's duties and the PDPA apply across every row. As of October 2026. See the full map and table

3

What it means if you are applying

  • Two desks read the file. The regulator assesses it and recommends; the Ministry considers the recommendation and decides. The application has to make the case on its own at both.
  • The route sets the timetable. For an e-money licence, the BOT's public handbook allows 60 business days in total, with AMLO and SEC checks running in parallel with the BOT's review.
  • Some approvals are shorter. Certain payment services register with the BOT instead of applying for a licence; the BOT receives both kinds of application.

The full map, the who-regulates-what table and every source are on the landscape page.

4

Sources

  1. BOT — List of successful applicants approved by the Minister of Finance to establish a virtual bank (19 Jun 2025)
  2. BOT — Virtual Bank (MOF notification 20 Feb 2024; BOT Notification FPG. 6/2567)
  3. Regulation Asia — Thailand's first virtual bank goes live (news or commentary)
  4. The Nation — CLICX opens Thailand's virtual bank era (news or commentary)
  5. MOF Notification under FIBA s. 9 — establishment of foreign commercial bank subsidiaries (7 Jun 2013)
  6. MOF Notification: Stipulation on Designated Payment Services (17 Apr 2018), under Payment Systems Act s. 16
  7. BOT Public Handbook — Licence to provide e-money service (60 business days; AMLO and SEC checks in parallel)
  8. MOF Notification: Personal loan business under supervision (30 Jul 2020), clauses 3–4
  9. BOT — Types of foreign exchange licences

Accessed and last reviewed . Each figure and table cell is traced to a source above.

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