BOT to allow banking agent licences
The central bank will permit the licensing of banking agents starting this quarter, in a move aimed at helping the country’s banks to cut costs and respond to fast-changing technology, Bank of Thailand (BOT) Governor Veerathai Santiprabhob said on Tuesday.
Commercial banks have been closing some of their branches due to high operating costs, while the trend is to increasingly apply information technology to operate mobile banking.
Banks are also changing the way they service customers, with banking agents one option, Veerathai said on the sidelines of an annual seminar hosted by the Federation of Thai Capital Market Organisations.
Some banks want to work with banking agents in remote areas, since setting up a full branch would cost too much, he said.
Such agents will be allowed to receive deposits, operate money transfers and cash-delivery services, the central-bank chief explained.
Post offices and other institutions or individuals that meet the required qualifying criteria could be given licences from the BOT and commercial banks, he added.
Asked whether he was worried about unemployment should the banks close more branches, Veerathai said that with proper training banks could designate staff to work on other tasks.
“Technology has affected everyone and every institution, so we need to adapt ourselves by gaining new skills,” he suggested.
