Bank of Thailand plans mandatory BNPL licences under new rules

The Bank of Thailand (BOT) is preparing to introduce a dedicated licence for buy now, pay later (BNPL) providers in the fourth quarter of 2026, requiring businesses covered by the new rules to obtain approval to continue offering the service.

The move forms part of a broader expansion of BOT supervision that will bring about 3,600 non-bank financial service providers under greater regulatory oversight, with particular attention to interest rates and consumer protection.

Vitai Ratanakorn, governor of the Bank of Thailand, told the Beyond ESG TRANSITION seminar that the central bank was accelerating work on clearer rules governing BNPL services.

The BNPL framework is part of an overhaul of the BOT’s supervisory approach to reflect changes in financial services, particularly the growing role of non-bank businesses in providing financial products directly to consumers.

The Financial Institutions Policy Committee (FIPC) has approved the overall BNPL framework. The BOT is working to complete the draft regulations by the end of September 2026 before putting them out for public consultation.

Feedback and observations will then be incorporated, with the final rules targeted for introduction in the fourth quarter.

A separate licence specifically for BNPL services will be created, bringing providers covered by the rules formally under BOT supervision. A transition period will be provided to give existing operators time to prepare and apply for the required licence.

A preliminary survey found that around six major BNPL providers are currently operating in the market. The BOT’s main regulatory focus will be companies extending credit to consumers to purchase goods through online platforms.

Such business models may involve both a lender and an online platform, but the central bank intends to focus primarily on the entity providing the credit.

“Once the rules take effect, operators that fall within their scope will have to come under BOT supervision. Those that fail to meet the requirements will not be able to continue operating,” Vitai noted.

BOT widens oversight of 3,600 non-bank operators

The BOT is also moving to broaden its supervision of non-bank financial businesses amid concerns that some existing laws no longer adequately reflect today’s financial landscape.

Consumers are increasingly exposed to excessively high interest rates or unfair conditions linked to newer forms of financial services, making stronger protection of financial services users an increasingly important part of regulation.

Expanding supervision will be a major undertaking for the central bank. Its remit will grow from overseeing roughly 30–40 core financial institutions to covering about 3,600 non-bank operators.

Those businesses span around 24 categories and use a wide variety of operating models, requiring the BOT to develop supervisory approaches suited to different types of providers.

In the lending sector alone, they include personal loans, or P-Loans, secured loans, nano-finance loans, vehicle title loans, BNPL services and credit cards.

“The task is not simply to increase the number of businesses brought under supervision. The BOT must also adjust its regulatory tools and systems so they can cope with the substantial increase in the number of operators,” Vitai explained.

Non-banks account for 75% of retail loan accounts

Non-bank providers account for about 75% of all retail and personal loan accounts, compared with around 25% held by commercial banks and specialised financial institutions (SFIs).

The figures underline the significant role non-banks now play in the retail credit market and are another factor behind the BOT’s move to extend supervision beyond commercial banks.

Consumer protection will also become a more prominent part of the central bank’s role. While its supervisory work has traditionally focused heavily on commercial banks and preventing risks that could lead to bank failures, the BOT now intends to place greater emphasis on protecting a much broader range of financial services users.

Its expanded oversight will cover a wide variety of businesses, from lending and payment services to e-wallets, leasing and foreign exchange services.

Although inspections of non-bank businesses may not be as detailed as those conducted on commercial banks, oversight will need to become substantially more intensive and comprehensive than before.

Data and technology will therefore play an important role in allowing the BOT to track thousands of operators and monitor financial activities across the system.

“The change involves not only expanding the scope of supervision, but also changing the way the BOT works so that it can respond to a financial market with a much larger and more diverse range of players,” Vitai added.