New app ‘to bridge wealth gap’ with stocks trading for low earners

Dime's CEO Kampol Jantavibool said KPP wants to educate more Thais about financial management and encourage them to invest in equities and mutual funds.

Investment in these assets, combined with proper understanding and information, will yield worthwhile returns, said Kampol at Tuesday’s launch event.

He cited a recent study that found only 3 million Thais had equities accounts and 1.5 million had mutual funds. In comparison, more than 50 per cent of people in countries such as the United States and Singapore have stock market investments.

"More than 75 per cent of Thais save in cash, with only 3 per cent investing in the stock market. In this country, the limited options for saving money widen the gap between rich and poor," said Kampol.

The study, conducted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), found that countries with broad access to financial services have significantly lower inequality than other countries.

Although more than 50 million Thais out of the 70 million population now have bank accounts, access to other financial services remains limited.

Dime! was created to bridge that gap and make investment services more accessible, particularly in international markets such as Wall Street, Kampol said.

Initially, the app will offer three services: savings, stocks, and mutual funds.

"The minimum rate for stock investment via Dime! is only 50 baht, while the saving service will collaborate with KPP bank to offer 3 per cent interest and no minimum opening deposit but a maximum limit of 30,000 baht," explained Kampol.

The app will launch on Thursday, targeting 150,000 users by the end of the year with assets under management (AUM) of 150 million baht. KPP expects the number of users to reach one million by 2025.

"We want to first explore our customers' behaviour before adding more financial services like insurance and credit loans," Kampol added.