Thailand's Siam Commercial Bank to Offer Stablecoin Remittance

Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), Thailand’s oldest bank, has announced a new stablecoin remittance service.

In partnership with fintech company Lightnet, the cross-border payment remittance service using stablecoins will allow clients to send and receive transactions at any time with reduced costs.

The lower fees make stablecoins particularly attractive for those receiving remittances in higher-value currencies.

Lightnet CEO Tridbodi Arunanondchai emphasized that this initiative will also promote broader financial inclusion, stating, “This project also promotes financial inclusion as there is a lower capital requirement per transaction. Beyond this, the project also provides unique value propositions to retail, corporate, and institutional clients.”

These stablecoin services have been tested through the Bank of Thailand’s regulatory sandbox, which allows financial institutions to experiment with digital assets under more flexible regulations.

The move comes as the stablecoin industry sees a record surge in transactions. Stablecoin liquidity surged to an all-time high of $169 billion at end of last month, reflecting a 31% growth since the beginning of the year.

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Thailand has also been taking an active approach to crypto adoption. In August, Thailand's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) introduced the Digital Asset Regulatory Sandbox in an attempt to enable developments and foster innovation that improve digital asset-related services.

Eligible digital asset-related services include Digital Asset Exchange, Digital Asset Broker, Digital Asset Dealer, Digital Asset Fund Manager, Digital Asset Advisor, and Digital Asset Custodial Wallet Provider.

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Kasikornbank (KBank), the second-largest bank in Thailand by assets, has announced earlier this month its intention to introduce Orbix Custodian, making it the first licensed digital asset custodian in Thailand.

The Digital Asset Custodian license was granted by the Ministry of Finance on September 13. Orbix Custodian will be under the supervision of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) with operations to commence in early 2025.

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