The Bank of Thai (BoT) and commercial banks that are members of the Thai Bankers’ Association (TBA) have been updating their digital infrastructure to manage cybersecurity concerns.
TBA Chairman Payong Srivanich said that TBA will work closely with the central bank and the Government Financial Institutions Association (GFA) to guarantee the implementation of new cybersecurity measures by the June deadline.
Payong claimed that banks have already gathered biometric information from their clients, enabling facial recognition for money transfers and adjusting credit transfer limitations on mobile banking apps.
A facial scan is now required for digital money transfers of more than 50,000 THB (1,440 USD) every transaction, transfers of more than 200,000 THB per day, and changing credit transfers of more than 50,000 baht per transaction, following the new regulations. By June of this year, banks must put these policies into effect.
Payong noted that banks will need to set aside a larger investment budget for IT and digital system development in order to comply with the new cybersecurity regulations. However, making the expenditure is essential to protect against cyber-risks, since failing to do so could result in greater losses for both customers and banks.
Meanwhile, specialized financial institutions (SFIs) have created biometric technology to protect clients from cyber-risks, according to Tuantong Treenuparb, senior executive vice-president for IT at Government Housing Bank and a representative of GFA. As a result, SFIs are determined to follow the new cybersecurity regulations set forth by the central bank.
The BoT reports that while some banks collected digitized face data for more than 50% of their total deposit client base, others did not.
When changing credit transfer limitations and requiring facial scans for digital money transfers, the central bank is in the earliest stages. For the following phase, it might be possible to extend the facial scans to include cash deposits and withdrawals.
