Int'l money transfer business more liberalized in Thailand

BANGKOK, February 1 (TNA) - The Bank of Thailand (BOT) has decided to more liberalize the international money transfer business in the country, taking effective as of January 31, 2019. BOT Governor Dr. Veerathai Santiprabhob told journalists of the new policy, under which a legal requirement for the proportion of Thai shareholders of a business has been relaxed from 75 per cent to only 25 per cent of its total capital. Dr. Veerathai stated that the new policy is aimed to widen the door of the business to welcome more business operators in order to cut transfer service fees for their clients due to rising competitors in the business. "The international money transfer business needs both internal and external networks; so, welcoming more entrepreneurs who have business networks in several economies internationally will promote more free competition and the adoption of more innovative technologies into the business that will be widely beneficial to the Thai people", the BOT governor explained. "Besides, Thailand's more liberalization of the international money transfer business will reduce service fees for small-scaled clients, including Thai nationals working overseas and migrant workers in Thailand who want to transfer money back home, as well as business operators running small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the tourism, hotel, e-commerce and border trade businesses", the BOT governor acknowledged. According to the BOT chief, the new policy also covers a more relaxing rule in which business operators are alllowed to launch the electronic money transfer service (e-service) for their clients to provide more convenience to the service users. (TNA)