Thailand Is Bringing BNPL Under Banking Supervision
Hey Digital Banking Fanatic!
Buy Now, Pay Later is becoming too big to stay lightly regulated.
The Bank of Thailand is preparing a dedicated BNPL licence for providers, with the new rules expected in Q4 2026. Around 3,600 non-bank financial firms will also come under tighter supervision as Thailand expands its regulatory framework.
For BNPL providers, this means a transition from operating under broader rules to meeting specific licensing requirements, with consumer protection and interest rates firmly in focus.
And while we’re looking at the digital banking market, here’s a quick look at how Digital Banks’ stocks performed over the past week.
Let’s get into today’s Digital Banking stories. 👇 See you tomorrow!
Cheers,
HOW DIGITAL BANKING PERFORMED LAST WEEK
📈 How did Digital Banks' stocks perform last week? Let's find out:
NEWS
🇹🇭 Bank of Thailand plans mandatory BNPL licences under new rules targeting Q4 2026. Around six major providers will need BOT approval, with draft regulations expected by end of September.
🇧🇷 PicPay announces integration with Claude, expanding customer access to financial data through generative AI. Brazil's digital bank lets users check balances and credit card statements via natural language, following its earlier ChatGPT plugin launch.
🇺🇸 OpenReserve secures $25M seed funding and receives preliminary OCC bank charter approval. The round was led by a16z crypto, with the company combining traditional banking, blockchain, and digital asset services.
🇬🇧 iwoca brings £1m SME loans to Starling Bank users via full API integration. Starling business customers can apply for loans of up to £1m inside the Starling app, with automated decisions and real-time data sharing cutting time-to-cash for cash-flow-constrained small businesses.
🇳🇱 Dutch central bank to cut 290 full-time jobs as part of a reorganization. DNB aims to reach around 2,090 employees by 2030, with savings of over €70 million from personnel reductions and other cost measures.
🇧🇷 Banco do Brasil completes a $5M digitally native structured note trade, a first for Latin America. The note was issued by Citi and settled via Euroclear's digital infrastructure platform.
🇭🇰 Ping An Digital Bank launches purchase order financing for cross-border e-commerce businesses in Hong Kong. Eligible SMEs can obtain up to 95% of accounts receivable with no traditional collateral required.
🇺🇸 Chime expands Trump Account support for employees' children and broadens access. The neobank also brings its Compound Combine product to Texas as it continues to grow its suite of consumer financial tools.
🇸🇬 Barclays launches a private bank booking centre in Singapore. The move expands the bank's wealth management footprint in Asia, serving ultra-high-net-worth clients across the region.
🇨🇳 Citi eyes a China brokerage unit licence as soon as this month. The bank is seeking regulatory approval to establish a wholly owned securities business in China, marking a significant push into the onshore market.
🌍 BNP Paribas and HSBC complete the first corporate treasury transaction on Swift's blockchain ledger. The milestone marks a step toward integrating distributed ledger technology into mainstream interbank settlement.
🇮🇹 The ECB approves Monte dei Paschi's takeover bid for Mediobanca. The green light from the ECB clears a key regulatory hurdle for one of Italy's most high-profile banking consolidations.
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