Bank of Thailand Considers Blockchain for Cross-Border Payments, Fraud Reduction

The Governor of the Bank of Thailand (BoT), said that the bank is considering blockchain technology for various applications during a speech at the the Bloomberg ASEAN Business Summit on July 12.

The central bank’s governor Dr. Veerathai Santiprabhob stated that the bank was specifically reviewing blockchain applications for cross-border payments, supply chain financing, and document authentication.

According to Dr. Santiprabhob, using blockchain for cross-border payments would “improve regional financial connectivity and facilitate smoother cross-border financial services.”

The BoT’s Governor also sees blockchain playing an important role in reducing fraud and protecting financial information:

“Adoption of modern technologies like biometrics and blockchains can help safeguard financial information and reduce the number and magnitude of fraudulent activities.”        

Also during his speech Thursday, the BoT governor spoke to the bank’s ongoing development of updated regulations encourage “competition and innovation”:

“The Bank of Thailand is also undergoing regulatory reform to review outdated rules and regulations, to facilitate ease of doing business and ensure that our regulations do not impede competition and innovation and contribute to high costs of financial services.”    

Thailand has recently made two notable moves in regulating cryptocurrencies. As Cointelegraph reported March 30, the country’s Finance Minister revealed a new tax framework for cryptocurrencies. The second move came from the Thai Securities and Exchange Commission (Thai SEC), who stated that new Initial Coin Offering (ICO) regulations will come into effect July 16, as Cointelegraph reported last week.

This is not the BoT governor’s first step towards implementing blockchain-based technologies. As Cointelegraph reported earlier in June, Dr. Santiprabhob spoke of possibly issuing central bank digital currency (CBDC) to improve interbank settlements.