KBank Financial Group maps future of trust and digital finance at Money20/20 Asia 

Kasikornbank Financial Conglomerate has reinforced its role as a financial innovation leader at Money20/20 Asia 2026, using the global fintech stage in Bangkok to set out its vision for resilient banking, trusted technology and the next phase of digital finance. 

The event, held from April 21-23, 2026, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Centre, brought together senior executives from across the financial and technology sectors at a time when volatility has become part of the new normal for global finance. 

For banks, that shift means their role can no longer be limited to taking deposits or extending loans. Amid economic pressure and rapid technological disruption, financial institutions are being pushed to redefine resilience, trust and customer protection for a new era. 

Kasikornbank takes the global stage, saying the future of finance must be built on both technology and trust 

Kattiya Indaravijaya, chief executive officer of KBank, shared her views on the Money20/20 stage under the theme “Technology, Trust, and the Future of Banking in Asia”, saying the strength of a modern bank can no longer be measured only by profit. 

Instead, she said, future banking strength will depend on mental flexibility, the ability to adapt quickly and the use of technology to bring out the most human side of financial services. 

Many are asking: at a time when Thailand’s economy is fragile, what does resilience mean for KBank?  

Asked what resilience means for KBank at a time when the Thai economy remains fragile, Kattiya said it was no longer simply about having a strong balance sheet or reporting high profits. The more important quality, she said, was being “flexible and nimble” enough to adjust strategy quickly when uncertainty emerges. 

Two years ago, she said, a bank’s strength might have been judged mainly by the depth of its capital base. Today, however, Thailand faces a more complex backdrop, with combined household, public and private debt amounting to around 250% of GDP, while economic growth has remained below 3% for an extended period. 

That pressure has forced a new interpretation of resilience. Kattiya said the key to navigating this environment is not technology alone, but the mindset of people across the organisation — from leaders to staff — so the bank can respond to structural problems in the economy and rapidly changing customer behaviour. 

Another of the hottest questions is how AI will affect Kasikornbank employees 

One of the most closely watched issues was the impact of artificial intelligence on KBank employees. 

Kattiya made clear that KBank would not use AI to replace people, but to strengthen their capabilities. AI, she said, should help employees make better and faster decisions, while broadening their creativity. 

She said the core principle of technology adoption must remain customer centricity. Banks need to ask what customers truly need and how AI can help meet those needs more effectively. 

KBank uses AI to help staff make faster and more accurate decisions, particularly by handling repetitive tasks and general transactions, which account for more than 90% of routine work. 

This allows specialist employees to spend more time on highly sensitive customer cases, which account for the remaining 10%. These high-emotion events, she pointed out, require empathy and human understanding — qualities that technology cannot fully imitate. 

Kattiya also pointed to KBank’s experience in strengthening mobile banking and overhauling its core banking system, saying the bank had learned from earlier setbacks. 

She said KBank faced obstacles during its first system transformation, but those difficulties became valuable lessons that helped the bank succeed in its second attempt. The result is a current system built around what she called “data liquidity”. 

This new IT structure allows the bank to uncover insights it had not previously been able to see. It also helps speed up product development and makes it easier to connect with partners across the wider ecosystem. 

“These data are not just numbers,” she said, describing them as a key to understanding customers at a micro level and serving niche markets that once appeared impossible to reach. 

When asked what “trust” will mean in the future 

Kattiya said the meaning of trust is also changing. In 2026, she said, customers will no longer ask only whether their money is safe. They will increasingly ask whether their digital lives are protected. 

That means banks must be more than custodians of data. They must use data for the genuine benefit of customers — whether by helping them save, grow their wealth or providing a safety net that can warn them and detect scams in milliseconds. 

Kattiya said this has become a new responsibility for financial institutions. Supporting and educating customers during crises, she said, is now central to building lasting trust. 

To move forward while maintaining balance, KBank applies a 70-20-10 investment model. Under this approach, 70% is allocated to running the core business, including core banking. Another 20% goes to innovation that supports the current business, including non-bank services. The final 10% is reserved for future technology investments. 

Kattiya said that even if only one out of 10 projects in the final category succeeds, the key is to ensure successful projects can scale and connect back to the main system. When that happens, they can quickly become a new core capability for the bank. 

Looking ahead, she said one of the most exciting developments in finance would be a more open financial world through blockchain innovation and money on chain. She said this could become a key driver of financial inclusion for retail customers and small businesses, giving more Thai people faster, easier and fairer access to funding. 

“The sky is the limit,” she said, adding that continuous learning through partnerships with global and local players would be the way for banks to remain dependable in a world where nothing is certain. 

She concluded that all industries are now moving from a phase of technology exploration into a period focused on trust, which will be essential for driving real mass adoption. 

Rungruang Sukkirdkijpiboon, president of KBank, added that although technology is changing quickly, the heart of financial services remains the same: services must become faster, cheaper and safer. 

He said KBank would be measured against those standards under the 70-20-10 framework, which balances its core business with future innovation. 

The bank is also laying foundations for new financial services that combine technology with trust through innovations tested under the Bank of Thailand’s Regulatory Sandbox. These include Q-money, a blockchain-based e-money service designed for transfers and cross-border payments through the Q Wallet by KBank application. 

Another initiative is Q-Bond, a financial innovation test involving bond data storage and the calculation of interest and principal payments on Quarix Chain. Q-money is being used to support settlement of bond value, interest and principal. 

The initiatives reflect KBank’s ambition to lead in capital markets and financial innovation under the Bank of Thailand’s Regulatory Sandbox. The bank will hold discussions and seek approval from relevant authorities before any real-world service launch. 

Orbix Group announces progress in building a digital asset ecosystem  

Dr Karin Boonlertvanich, chairman of Orbix Group, also shared his vision on the future of digital assets under the themes “Digital Asset Ecosystem and Money on Chain from Orbix Group” and “How Digital Asset Ecosystems Will Redefine Money”. 

He said the future of finance will require infrastructure capable of supporting digital assets, along with regulatory certainty. Achieving that, he said, will require close coordination with regulators and consistency across three main layers. 

• The first is the infrastructure layer, where clarity is needed on blockchain use, particularly know-your-customer standards and the process of bringing money on to blockchain networks. This includes questions over whether the baht can operate on a public blockchain, how validators should be treated in private blockchains and how a two-layer structure should separate the money layer from the asset layer. 
   

• The second is the ecosystem layer. Thailand has an advantage because it has had digital asset legislation since 2018, covering ICO portals, exchanges, brokers and digital asset custodial wallet providers. However, Karin said the most important issue is the clear segregation of duties to prevent conflicts of interest and build a sustainable system that reduces the risk of failure. 
   

• The third is the user layer, where laws must be designed to support a seamless and user-friendly experience. This could include allowing traditional securities firms to help customers access digital assets and new financial products more easily, while still maintaining strong safety and trust standards. 

Digital currency and new global standards 

Looking five years ahead, Karin said the digital asset business could evolve through a model for regulating digital currencies. 

He said a framework could emerge to supervise digital money issued by the private sector, similar in concept to the creation of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in the United States 150 years ago, which was designed to organise digital currency and strengthen financial stability. 

He also expected to see the creation of an international organisation similar to the Bank for International Settlements to set common standards for cross-border transactions and settlements. 

Ultimately, he said, these changes are not being made only for financial institutions. The bigger goal is to create a new set of standards that can genuinely protect people’s wealth and security. 

Karin said the results of this transformation should become clear within the next three to five years across three areas. 

• Speed and cost, with cross-border transfers and settlements becoming real-time and cheaper. 

• Security, with assets protected by experts, under the supervision of the Bank of Thailand and the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

• Innovation, which could open the door to global financial products such as crypto ETFs and tokenised bonds. 

Orbix Group moves forward with shaping the future of digital finance  

Orbix Group has built a digital asset ecosystem spanning both B2C and B2B segments through its affiliated companies: Orbix Trade, Orbix Invest, Orbix Custodian, Orbix Technology and Innovation, and Kubix. 

The group is developing practical solutions across investment, payments and fundraising in the digital world. 

Orbix Group has become a key player and the “final jigsaw piece” in the ecosystem. The group expects assets under custody of around 20 billion to 30 billion baht by the end of this year, Karin said. 

Its main revenue drivers remain Orbix Trade and Kubix, which operates as an ICO portal. Under this strategy, Orbix Group expects its revenue this year to match its expenses and aims to become profitable within the next three years. 

KBank’s move through Orbix Group is therefore not simply about following a technology trend. It is a strategic attempt to help shape the future of digital finance by linking traditional wealth with next-generation innovation.