Kakao Bank Lands Thailand License and Pushes Deeper Into Southeast Asia
Hey Digital Banking Fanatic!
Kakao Bank is officially moving into Southeast Asia through a joint venture with Thailand’s SCBX to launch a digital bank in the country.
This follows Thailand’s approval of its first virtual banking licenses earlier this year. The Kakao Bank–SCBX consortium secured one of just three permits, alongside China’s WeBank.
The deal was formalized in Bangkok this week. Kakao Bank will start with a 10% stake and plans to gradually increase its holding to 24.5%, becoming the second-largest shareholder in the new entity.
Another market. Another license. Another sign that Asian digital banks are scaling through partnerships, not just apps.
SCBX will lead the project, with Kakao Bank contributing its digital banking know-how as operations target a launch as early as the second half of this year.
If you’re tracking how Digital Banking players are expanding across Asia, keep scrolling 👇.
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NEWS
🇹🇭 Kakao Bank teams up with SCBX to launch the first digital bank in Thailand. Under the agreement, Kakao Bank will initially take a 10% stake in the new entity and plans to gradually increase its holding to 24.5%. SCBX will lead the project, with Kakao Bank and China’s WeBank joining as partners.
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