Thai, Cambodian banks jointly launch money transfer service in lead-up to AEC

BANGKOK, March 19 (TNA) - Bangkok-based Kasikornbank and Wing Cambodia Limited Specialised Bank have agreed to jointly launch a Thai-Cambodian money transfer service, starting from May 2015, in their preparation for the formation of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), when bilateral trade will further expand and more Cambodians will work in Thailand. Kasikornbank's Executive Vice President Pakorn Partanapat told journalists of the information on Thursday, noting that the agreed service will allow clients to transfer money via their mobile phones with a fee of 200 baht per transfer and recipients will receive money in US dollars. Pakorn said that there are now about 70,000 Cambodian clients of Kasikornbank, foreseeing that more Cambodian nationals will work in Thailand after AEC is formed, as the Thai government plans to soon set up a border economic zone in Sa Kaeo Province in the Thai East bordering Cambodia. Last year, the value of border trade between Thailand and Cambodia stood at 114.47 billion baht, while about one million Cambodians are in Thailand, 700,000 of them are workers mainly in Chon Buri, Rayong, Chanthaburi and Trat Provinces in the Thai East. Wing Cambodia Limited Specialised Bank's Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Anthony Perkins acknowledged, meanwhile, that about 500,000 Cambodian workers in Thailand have problems in transferring money to their families in Cambodia, while the new service will be their cheapest and convenient solution and reach 25 Cambodian provinces. (TNA)