Thai lenders bank on revamped apps to sustain growth

Krung Thai Bank and Kasikornbank have updated their apps.

Thailand’s biggest lenders are steadily migrating their services online as they enhance their mobile banking applications in an effort to sustain growth, reports Nikkei Asian Review.

Also read: Thailand's digital banking shift to boost revenue

Krung Thai Bank has announced a new version of its app with Krungthai NEXT eight years after the older version was first released. The revamped app enables electronic money transfer and purchase of 10 foreign currencies including US dollars, Japanese yen, Singapore dollars and Hong Kong dollars.

"We expect the app will be able to help increase the number of mobile banking users to 10 million users by 2019," said Payong Srivanich, president and chief executive of the bank.

Similarly, Kasikornbank also released a newer version of its app in early October whilst Siam Commercial Bank has announced that it would add new features to its app.

Also read: Thai banks put up fight against telcos in e-wallet war

With commercial banks urged to curb mortgage lending which constitutes a profitable business, lenders have steadily been turning to tech to improve efficiency as part of an industry-wide digital shift. Banks are eager to grow market share in the online and mobile banking business especially since hyperscales like Apple, Google or Alibaba have yet to grow significant presence in the country. 

Additionally, the aim of Thai banks to act as an all-around portal for a growing range of payments from lifestyle purchases and donations is in line with the government’s Thailand 4.0 plan to transition the country into a smart society.