The Governor of the Bank of Thailand points out that solving financial threats requires a combination of technology, law, and data.
Statistics from 2565 indicate that over 1 million Thais have been defrauded, losing nearly 1 billion baht. It's also clear that 50% of the money is transferred within three minutes of being defrauded. The Governor of the Bank of Thailand (BOT) emphasized the need to use technology, law, and data to combat financial threats, having already eliminated over 3 million money mule accounts.
19 September 2568 Dr. Sethaput Suthiwatnarueput, Governor of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), delivered a speech at the annual academic seminar of the Bank of Thailand. 2568 Topic: “Being aware of financial threats: Towards Safer and More Inclusive Digital Finance” that Over the past decade, digital finance has developed exponentially, particularly with digital payment systems, also known as fast payments, which make transactions convenient, fast, and accessible, significantly changing the financial lifestyles of both individuals and businesses.
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The clearest example in Thailand is PromptPay, which is used by over 70% of the Thai population in their daily lives and currently has over 76 million transactions per day, with an average daily transfer value exceeding 144 billion baht.[1]
Importantly, these developments also open the door to new opportunities for workers, households and businesses, both large and small, to access the digital economy at lower costs, whether for entrepreneurs or small businesses.
Small businesses can expand their business into the online market through fast payment systems, or workers can transfer money home more conveniently and quickly.
But this progress has come at the expense of increasingly severe financial risks around the world, threatening the livelihoods of a broader segment of Thais. Since 2565, more than one million victims have filed complaints, resulting in nearly 1 billion baht in damages.[2]
The Governor of the Bank of Thailand added that the Bank of Thailand has been collaborating with both internal and external financial sector agencies to continuously strengthen and systematically manage financial threats.
However, addressing financial crimes presents significant challenges. This is evident in the recent case of mule accounts, where we found that one of the financial crime management actions, the extension of funds under the Emergency Decree on Measures to Prevent and Suppress Technology Crime (Cyber Decree), which aims to help withhold funds for victims, has had a greater impact on honest individuals involved in the money transfer than expected.
We have therefore collaborated with the Technology Crime Suppression Division (TCSD) and relevant partners to expedite the process, enabling account suspensions to be lifted faster since the beginning of last week, and are currently improving the mechanism.
To minimize the impact on dishonest individuals, this should be done by the end of this month to help ease merchants' concerns and build public confidence in using digital payment systems.
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A framework towards safer and more inclusive digital finance
The current escalation of financial threats highlights the trade-offs inherent in digital finance, which, while providing convenience and economic opportunity, also poses significant financial risks to the public. Striking a balance that ensures confident access to financial services for all, we must develop three key elements in tandem: technology, governance, and data.
(1) technology It is a key component in driving innovation and creating new economic opportunities, and it also plays a crucial role in reducing innovation risks. However, technology alone is not enough to create a secure and sustainable financial system.
We need to have
(2) Supervision (Regulatory framework) Appropriate to set the rules
and create a guardrail against technology and promote access
Go together
(3) Information It is also an important element that will help create economic incentives and push for the development of digital finance to meet the needs of users and achieve widespread and sustainable growth.
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Financial threats in Thailand
The Governor of the Bank of Thailand revealed that financial threats in Thailand, particularly Authorized Push Payment Fraud, are spreading rapidly in line with the growth of fast payment systems, which reflects the gaps and the need for us to improve these three elements:
In terms of technology: Fast payment systems that make transactions easy, fast, available anywhere, anytime, and virtually free have facilitated fraud that is difficult to manage in two main dimensions.
The first dimension is Scale: fast payment systems combined with technology and platforms.
It makes it easier to connect more people, and AI makes the scams more subtle.
resulting inFraud is becoming more prevalent, widespread, and increasingly close to everyone. From a survey of more than 7,000 Thai people[3] It was found that 70% had been persuaded or deceived, and more than 30% had suffered damages, and this covered all demographics.
The second dimension is Speed: fast payment allows scammers to transfer money outside the system quickly. Money is therefore lost quickly and difficult to track. Data shows that over 50% of the money is transferred within 3 minutes, while victims take an average of 18 hours to become aware and report the scam.[4] This makes financial institutions' response a race against time.
Technology will be the keyTo increase the effectiveness of comprehensive financial threat management, from prevention, detection and management of irregularities from financial transactions, an example of the policy that the Bank of Thailand is about to implement is:
- Improving the development of a timely and accurate detection system using interbank transaction data and the Central Fraud Registry (CFR).
- Improving the CFR system to enable faster settlement and reconnection of funds
By using Application Programming Interface (API) and automation systems to increase efficiency in cutting off the money trail of fraudsters and trapping as much money as possible.
In terms of supervision We can see that financial threats can come in many forms.
Multi-channel and involves multiple sectors in the fraud chain.Fraudsters exploit “loopholes” in this chain to defraud and conceal financial trails. Therefore, financial threat management will be ineffective if (1) service providers have different security standards, (2) data from different sectors in the supply chain is not linked and cannot be shared, (3) governance and authority are not comprehensive across the system, and (4) regulations are not up to date with the challenges and the digital world.[5]
We therefore need to give importance to
- Setting standards for service providers to have processes in place to prevent, detect and deal with financial threats
- Comprehensive definition of the powers and duties of various parties and up-to-date regulations
- Building infrastructure to promote multi-sectoral cooperation
For example, important policies include:
- Pushing for the Cybersecurity Act to define the powers and duties of all sectors
To be clear and up to date with the problems, including having a policy for setting them.
Responsibilities of various sectors - Pushing for standards for financial service providers to have processes in place to prevent, detect and deal with financial threats, such as Mobile Banking Security standards and measures to manage mule accounts across the system.
In terms of information Financial threats associated with fast payment systems leave financial institutions and law enforcement agencies without complete data to track the money trail. This is because criminals can transfer funds quickly across unconnected financial institutions and payment systems. Furthermore, research indicates that only 10% of victims file a report, resulting in financial institutions being unable to clearly distinguish between honest and fraudulent individuals. Users may lack the knowledge and understanding to make careless decisions and be unable to protect themselves. Therefore, we must prioritize solving data problems in all dimensions through promotion.
- Sharing, linking and analyzing system-wide data, including citizen notifications
- Cross-sector data sharing
- Disclosure of information and mechanisms that enable citizens to use information in decision-making
Carefully
In this regard, the Bank of Thailand and its partners have established the Central Fraud Registry database to link information between financial institutions and expand its coverage to include banks, non-banks, and digital asset exchanges. They have also developed a more convenient reporting system via AOC 1441.
Over the past few years, various measures have been showing positive results. For example, unauthorized fraud in the form of "money-sucking apps" has been gradually eliminated since the beginning of 2568, from 7,444 cases in 2566.[6] meanwhile
We have already eliminated over 2.8 million mule accounts, which has contributed to a decrease in losses from fraudulent transfers, from a peak of 8,950 billion baht in Q2 2567 to 5,651 billion baht in the same quarter of 2568.[7]
“Even though we have made significant progress, financial risks and threats will continue to evolve as the financial system evolves. we As a citizen Society financial system We must work together to build resilience so that Thai society can grow with digital finance in a stable and balanced way.”
- The purpose of this year's Bank of Thailand academic seminar
In the morning of the Bank of Thailand academic seminar
This year presents an important opportunity for all sectors to learn and exchange ideas for solutions to this problem. This issue will be a key topic at the annual meetings of the IMF and World Bank, which Thailand will co-host next year.
The afternoon event will be redesigned into a “Research Talk” format to provide opportunities for the public and policymakers to learn and exchange ideas with academics conducting research on key issues in the Thai financial economy. This will aim to advance research to broader awareness and policy formulation.
"Finally, I would like to thank the research team, experts, and everyone who honored us with their presence today. I hope this exchange of knowledge will not only raise awareness but also spark us to work together to create a balance for the development of a digital financial system that is responsive, safe, and accessible to all Thais."
[1] Payment Data Indicators July 2568 of the Bank of Thailand
[2] Accumulated data from 1 March 2565 – 31 August 2568 from the Royal Thai Police
[3] Produced by the Gambling Study Center, Faculty of Economics, Chulalongkorn University
[4] Amarase et al, 2025 [Forthcoming], “The landscape of digital fraud in Thailand: Evidence and Policy Implications,” Discussion Paper, Puey Ungphakorn Institute for Economic Research.
[5] For example, financial institutions have previously been restricted from opening accounts or conducting transactions, or have complicated legal procedures that rely on a large amount of paper-based documents and evidence, making them unable to keep up with current events.
[6] The Bank of Thailand has compiled data from 17 financial institutions under its supervision.
[7] The Bank of Thailand collects information from the Royal Thai Police and the Anti-Money Laundering Office.
