Thailand Post branches into cash-withdrawal

The state enterprise hopes the service expansion will attract more banks and that income from Bank@Post Bank@Post will increase significantly from the current level.

Somchai Thammavej, vice president of the finance and retail marketing department, said Thailand Post had had a withdrawal licence for the past four years, but the service could only be launched when banks were properly prepared in terms of their information-technology systems.

Kiatnakin Bank – the latest bank to have joined Thailand Post’s Bank@Post Bank@Post deposit service – will be the first to launch a withdrawal service at the state enterprise’s 1,400 branches around the country, he said.

Each of its partner banks can offer the Bank@Post Bank@Post withdrawal service if they have prepared the technology to connect with Thailand Post, he explained.

Under the withdrawal service, customers are not required to bring a passbook when they visit a Thailand Post branch, and will only need to show a one-time password (OTP) via their mobile phone.

The OTP will be sent electronically from the bank.

Post offices offer an alternative channel for those banks with a limited number of branches and whose customers are in remote areas, as – like customers at any bank – they sometimes require money urgently, said Somchai.

The new withdrawal service will help meet the requirements of these customers, alongside the current provision of deposit services for eight banks, he added.

The eight banks are Kiatnakin Bank, Krungsri (Bank of Ayudhya), TMB Bank, Thai Credit Retail Bank, CIMB Thai Bank, Tisco Bank, the Government Savings Bank and United Overseas Bank.

While overall deposits via Bank@Post Bank@Post are currently small, averaging around Bt300 million per month, business via the Bank@Post Bank@Post channel should rise when the cash-withdrawal service is adopted by additional banks, said the vice president.

"In fact, we want to provide added convenience for customers of small banks, because they don’t have as many branches as Thailand Post. However, we have found that customers in the provinces are not familiar with the brands of small banks, which should aggressively promote their brands to people in the provinces and remote areas if they want to see greater deposit activity at Bank@Post, Bank@Post," he said.

Despite lower-than-expected deposit activity to date, Thailand Post has generated some Bt1 million a year in income from servicing the deposit operation, he said, adding that income should expand tenfold when the enterprise expands its withdrawal service among participating banks.

Moreover, Thailand Post also wants the country’s larger banks to consider using its extensive network of branches in servicing deposits and withdrawals for their customers in remote areas.

"People in Omkoi district, in Chiang Mai province, cannot conveniently find a bank branch in which they can conduct transactions, but we have a branch there," Somchai said by way of example.

Thailand Post aims to make to make a profit from the use of its branches as efficient deposit and withdrawal outlets in order to reduce its dependence on financial assistance from the government, he added.