CIMB Bank Thai (CIMBT) has sought the Bank of Thailand's approval for the appointment of 7-Eleven convenience stores and Bangchak Corporation petroleum stations as its two new banking agents for money deposit and withdrawal services.
Adisorn Sermchaiwong, senior executive vice-president for the bank, said CIMBT plans to offer deposits and money withdrawal service through its agents at first, extending to opening deposit accounts by using an electronic know-your-customer (e-KYC) system to provide customers more convenience with speed and security.
CIMBT already has two agents, Advanced Info Service shops and Thailand Post.
"In collaboration with the business partners, we are testing out e-KYC in the central bank's regulatory sandbox, covering digital ID card reading and customers' identification through biometrics," Mr Adisorn said. "With the innovative technology, clients no longer need to go to branches to identify themselves."
CIMBT plans to maintain its 92 brick-and-mortar branches nationwide, as this number is considered suitable to create economies of scale after the shuttering of several branches in the past few years. At the end of 2015, CIMBT had about 130 branches nationwide.
Banking agents can better access customers, particularly those living in remote areas, with lower operating costs, Mr Adisorn said.
CIMBT has launched two mini-banking branches at 7-Eleven, offering a range of services: account openings, deposits, foreign currency exchange, money transfers and acceptance of applications for personal loans, credit cards and leasing.
Under the Bank of Thailand's amended banking regulations, agents can provide cash withdrawals of up to 5,000 baht per transaction and 20,000 per day per customer.
Mr Adisorn said the bank opened a new network model called Wealth Center for financial advisory. It plans to open two more wealth centres by the end of the year.
Kasikornbank (KBank), the country's fourth-largest lender by total assets, plans to shut more of its physical branches this year as consumer behaviour evolves. The bank is developing other service channels and plans to have three or four outlets under the new model.
On Friday, CIMBT shares closed flat at 89 satang on the SET in trade worth 575,000 baht, while KBANK rose 11.50 baht to 210 baht in trade worth 5.31 billion baht.
