Digitisation would catalyse Thai economic growth and increase efficiency in the banking sector, says chief of Citibank Thailand.
The country’s banking industry is transforming into a digital banking business supported by digital technology development. With digitisation, banking service can mitigate pain points in the three core areas of transparency, speed and operating cost, said Narumon Chivangkur, Citi’s country head for Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos, today at Bangkok Post Forum 2023 on the subject of Banking Revolution; The Catalyst for Thailand’s Economic Revival.
Besides helping to solve problems for customers, digitisation can significantly improve productivity and efficiency. For example, Citibank accommodated around 200-300 foreign exchange transactions per day manually in 1996, whereas this year 10,000 similar transactions per day occur and are overseen by just half the number of staff, she said.
“With digitisation, the banking business landscape has been changing from product-driven in the past to client-driven in the present, and a technology and solution-driven landscape of the future. Meanwhile, transformation is occurring rapidly in the digital era,” Ms Narumon said.
Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin takes a group photo with sponsors at the Bangkok Post Forum 2023. From left, Parson Lam, Director of the Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office in Bangkok; David Li, CEO, Huawei Technologies (Thailand) Co Ltd; Narumon Chivangkur, Country Head, Citi Country Officer for Thailand, Cambodia and Laos, Citibank, N. A.; Jackie Kang, General Manager, EVA Airways Thailand Branch; and Timothy Emen Lertsmitivanta, Chief Executive Officer, Thonburi Wellbeing Co Ltd. (Photo: Wichan Charoenkiatpakul)
According to National ITMX Ltd, there were around 70.9 million personal registrations for digital banking platforms, as of July this year, an 8% year-on-year rise. Corporate registrations are 280,000, up 25%, biller ID registrations are at 152,000, growing 43%, and PromptPay transactions are 1.68 billion accounting for an increase of 35%.
With the digital era, Citibank is ready to support local and international customers for both inbound and outbound investment and expansion as part of Citi 95 networks worldwide, said Ms Narumon. Additionally, Thailand is a key destination for foreign direct investment, while local clients are interested in expanding abroad in search of new business opportunities.
Citibank also came up with a first-of-its-kind partnership with the World Bank and a water purifier manufacturer in Vietnam, and hopefully, similar projects will be implemented in Thailand in the near future, she said.
Foreign diplomats and businesspeople attend the Bangkok Post Forum 2023 titled: ‘Thailand: The Era of Change’ at the Centara Grand at CentralWorld where Prime Minister and Finance Minister Srettha Thavisin was the key speaker. (Photo: Pattarapong Chatpattarasill)
