Central Bank joins 11 bodies to curb illicit finance on September 10
Thailand's central bank seeks faster action against suspect accounts and tighter cash, gold and payment checks to disrupt criminal money flows
- The Bank of Thailand has joined 11 financial sector bodies in a framework to prevent illegal use of financial services.
- The initiative seeks faster action against accounts linked to wrongdoing and closer scrutiny of deposits, transfers, withdrawals and asset conversion.
- Banks plan five measures, while payment providers will strengthen ongoing merchant checks and share data for financial-trail analysis.
The Bank of Thailand (BOT) joined 11 financial sector bodies on September 10, 2026, in a coordinated effort to block illicit money flows, speed up action against accounts linked to wrongdoing and prevent criminals using financial services.
The Framework for Safeguarding the Financial Sector from Illicit Activities aims to stop banks and other providers becoming conduits for illegal transactions and protect people from financial harm, according to the BOT announcement.
BOT governor Vitai Ratanakorn said the initiative brought together measures previously pursued separately, extending the response beyond mule accounts to money connected with online gambling, scams, other illegal businesses and corruption.
“What we have done over the past 11 months may have looked like separate pieces, but what we are doing today is bringing the whole industry connected with finance together,” Vitai said.
Blocking illicit money at every stage
Vitai said continued screening of mule accounts had helped reduce losses and the frequency of offending. The wider challenge, however, involved money moving through accounts, transfers and cash withdrawals before being converted into foreign currency, gold or digital assets to conceal its origins.
The objective is to prevent accounts connected with online gambling from receiving money obtained by deception and close those accounts quickly if transfers get through. Payment providers should also prevent scammers and other illegal businesses from receiving funds through transfers or other payment methods, Vitai said.
Funds reaching accounts implicated in wrongdoing must be frozen or blocked promptly. The measures also seek to make onward transfers, withdrawals and conversion into other assets more difficult.
“We have to make it difficult to withdraw money from those accounts, especially cash withdrawals used to convert it into other assets, such as gold or USDT,” Vitai said.
The BOT plans to improve information sharing across commercial, state-owned and foreign banks, non-bank financial providers, payment firms and moneychangers. Individual banks have previously been limited largely to information within their own systems.
Relevant information would also be shared with the Anti-Money Laundering Office (AMLO), National Anti-Corruption Commission, police and Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), supporting their respective regulatory and enforcement responsibilities.
Vitai acknowledged that the BOT and financial institutions did not have direct powers to suppress crime or make arrests. Their role was to create obstacles throughout the financial process, from money entering an account to its eventual conversion into other assets.
“We may not have the power to suppress crime or make arrests directly, but we can create difficulties, create bottlenecks and make these transactions more complicated, reducing their volume substantially,” Vitai said.
Vitai described the cooperation as a shared commitment requiring follow-through. He stressed leadership that delivers results, common rules and standards, stronger capabilities, information sharing and close cooperation.
The BOT has committed to raising standards, developing shared rules, analysing and exchanging data, and coordinating between the industry and relevant regulators. Associations representing state-owned banks, commercial banks, non-bank providers and moneychangers have also pledged to participate.
The central bank does not expect crime to disappear immediately, but believes making illicit transactions harder should gradually reduce offending.
Cash, gold and digital assets
Earlier measures have covered cash withdrawals and gold trading, including reporting physical gold withdrawals of at least 2kg. Vitai described that quantity as worth roughly 10 million baht, with information shared with police and AMLO. The weight-based reporting threshold is set out in the BOT presentation.
Vitai said the value of requests for physical gold had fallen rapidly from 20 billion baht a month to 3 billion baht following the measures.
The BOT also limits authorised moneychangers’ purchases of foreign currency from each customer to 800,000 baht a day. Its published measures specify a lower limit of 200,000 baht in border areas and other designated locations.
Vitai linked tighter foreign-exchange oversight to efforts to prevent illicit funds being converted into digital assets. The BOT is also working with the SEC on rules governing stablecoin transactions, including USDT, which Vitai expects to help reduce abnormal trading once introduced.
The central bank is raising know your customer (KYC), customer due diligence (CDD) and enhanced due diligence (EDD) standards, including additional scrutiny when customers show unusual transaction patterns. The aim is consistent safeguards across the financial industry.
Banks strengthen five lines of defence
Thai Bankers’ Association chairman Payong Srivanich said Thailand faced increasingly complex, cross-border technology crime and scams.
Payong cited more than 1.9 million technology-crime reports between January and July 2026, with losses of 9 billion baht, with a daily reporting average that had fallen to about 902 cases.
Payong said losses remained high as criminals continually refined their methods and sought to launder proceeds or disguise their origins.
The cooperation supported the ambition to “Reinvent Thailand” by strengthening international trust and confidence in the country, Payong said.
The association and its member banks will support five measures:
- Strengthen KYC, CDD and EDD checks by connecting with government data.
- Establish a common industry standard for managing accounts that present risks.
- Tighten checks on cash transactions to reduce their use in illegal activities.
- Use technology for proactive monitoring, detecting anomalies quickly and limiting harm before it spreads.
- Coordinate information sharing among banks, government agencies and the private sector to disrupt illicit financial flows.
Payment providers tighten merchant checks
Yod Chinsupakul, president of the Thai E-Payment Trade Association (TEPA), said non-bank payment providers would strengthen electronic payment security through three priorities: raising standards, making criminal transactions more difficult and acting quickly.
Yod said checks needed to become more rigorous and effective in line with international standards. Faster action would involve both information sharing and rapid changes to algorithms and systems as new scam techniques emerged.
Providers will strengthen know your merchant (KYM) checks throughout their relationships with merchants. They will also raise KYC and CDD standards for consumers and other users, including identity verification and the submission of data for analysis.
TEPA will continue supplying useful data to the BOT for link analysis, helping trace financial flows and identify unusual behaviour. The association also plans to establish a Fraud and Risk Working Group to strengthen its response to scams.
