IMF, World Bank launch 12-point Bangkok Blueprint on October 14

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank Group, working with the Bank of Thailand, launched the Bangkok Blueprint in Bangkok on October 14, 2026, setting out 12 considerations under five pillars to help countries combat digital financial fraud. The Bangkok Blueprint for Fraud-Resilient Financial Services was unveiled during the IMF–World Bank Group Annual Meetings, being held in Bangkok from October 12 to 18. Its aim is to make digital financial services safer while preserving fair and inclusive access.

The Bangkok Blueprint provides an adaptable policy framework, covering legislation, identity verification, suspicious transaction detection, money tracing, victim support and international coordination. Countries can apply the guidance according to their laws, financial systems and capabilities, without being subject to a uniform global law.

Cross-border scams expose gaps in national responses

Cross-border fraud can involve a victim in Thailand, a scammer operating abroad and stolen money passing through several accounts before reaching a third country or being converted into other assets. Following that money trail and freezing funds requires cooperation between agencies and jurisdictions.

Digital financial services make transfers, payments and access to banking faster and more convenient. The same technology also allows criminals to operate more quickly and develop increasingly sophisticated scams. 

National authorities working only within their own borders may struggle to follow the full movement of stolen funds. The Bangkok Blueprint seeks to close coordination gaps and give countries a shared starting point for prevention and response.

Bangkok Blueprint sets five pillars for tackling fraud

The Bangkok Blueprint organises its 12 considerations under five pillars, covering the foundations of national policy through to consumer protection:

1. Establish strategic and legal foundations. The framework calls for clear policy direction and defined responsibilities for the agencies tackling financial fraud.

2. Strengthen measures throughout the fraud cycle. The framework covers prevention, detection, incident response and support for victims.

3. Use existing risk management and enforcement frameworks. The framework encourages countries to strengthen their ability to identify, interrupt and deal with fraudulent transactions through mechanisms already available.

4. Expand domestic and international cooperation. The framework promotes information sharing and coordinated efforts to trace financial flows linked to cross-border crime.

5. Promote consumer protection and resilience. The framework aims to help people use digital finance confidently and strengthen the financial system’s ability to respond to threats.

The Bangkok Blueprint’s practical measures can also be explained through three connected themes:

- Safer digital infrastructure: Make tackling scams a national priority, update legislation, strengthen payment systems and improve digital identity checks to prevent impersonation and the opening of mule accounts.

- Stronger risk controls: Use technology and data analysis to detect unusual transactions, improve financial institutions’ cybersecurity and develop faster, fairer procedures for victim assistance and the return of funds.

- Cooperation across sectors: Connect banks, regulators, police, telecommunications providers and digital platforms so they can share information and respond effectively. International cooperation and public awareness should support safeguards that preserve access to essential financial services.

Bangkok Blueprint aims to reduce losses and support recovery

The Bangkok Blueprint’s intended benefits extend from stopping suspicious payments to maintaining confidence in digital finance. The framework seeks to improve outcomes in four areas:

1. Reduce fraud losses. Earlier detection and intervention could stop suspicious payments before stolen money is transferred onwards or moved abroad.

2. Improve the chances of recovering money. Better coordination between banks, authorities and countries could make funds easier to trace and support redress for victims.

3. Strengthen confidence in digital finance. Clear prevention and response arrangements could help people feel more secure when using financial services.

4. Preserve financial access. Anti-fraud safeguards should avoid excluding ordinary customers, older people and small businesses from essential services.

The Bangkok Blueprint’s benefits depend on implementation. The framework itself does not guarantee that stolen money will be recovered or that victims will receive refunds.

Thailand builds on existing anti-scam measures

Thailand already has measures consistent with the Bangkok Blueprint’s approach, including stronger mobile banking security, checks on mule accounts, information sharing between financial institutions and data analysis to identify suspicious behaviour.

Thailand’s Anti Online Scam Operation Center (AOC) operates the 1441 hotline to receive reports and coordinate action to suspend suspicious transactions or accounts.

Thailand’s “Connect the Dots” initiative brings together information from different agencies to identify scam patterns and connections between transactions more quickly. Extending those efforts to trace money across borders still requires further international cooperation and information sharing.

Putting the Bangkok Blueprint into practice will require countries to adapt its recommendations, strengthen laws and operating systems, and maintain coordination between public agencies and private businesses. The objective is a digital financial system that people can trust and access safely, supported by cooperation that reaches across the borders criminals exploit.