Bank of Ayudhya (BAY) plans to add three more banking agents this year to broaden customer accessibility to the bank's financial services and help achieve acquisition targets for new customers.
The SET-listed bank expects to reach a conclusion soon with three potential banking agents, one of them a discount store chain, said Phonganant Thanattrai, head of the retail banking and distribution group. He did not reveal names.
The country's fifth-largest commercial bank by assets has four existing banking agents: Thailand Post, MAI-listed Forth Smart Service Plc (via Boonterm top-up machines), Counter Service (at 7-Eleven stores) and Max Mart (at PT petrol stations).
Through the banking agents, BAY customers can use services at more than 1,000 offices of Thailand Post, 140,000 Boonterm machines and more than 10,000 7-Eleven stores nationwide.
After the Bank of Thailand amended banking agent rules to widen business scope, BAY began offering basic financial services such as deposit, money withdrawal, funds transfer and bill payment through this channel.
Mr Phonganant said the bank's financial transactions through Boonterm machines have shot up since the roll-out six months ago. In addition to low-income and blue-collar earners, whose usage was anticipated, white-collar workers, vendors and self-employed customers are using the bank's services at the machines.
"Customers who make financial transactions at Boonterm are a wider base than previously thought," Mr Phonganant said. "So the channel has received a better response than expected in terms of both transactions and volume, partly due to its round-the-clock service."
The bank would rather use agents than branch expansion to access and serve customers, particularly those living in remote areas, amid changing financial behaviour and lifestyles, he said, noting that traditional branch openings lack economies of scale.
BAY has not put a target on the number of banking agents it wants, but the plan is to expand through the channel as much as possible.
Mr Phonganant said remote areas contain both existing and new customers, especially of BAY subsidiary Ngern Tid Lor (Money on Wheels).
The bank is also considering additional financial services offered by banking agents as allowed by the central bank. These could include deposit account openings and loan applications, depending on the readiness of the agents.
Despite the bright prospects of banking agents, BAY aims to maintain its current 660 brick-and-mortar branches at least until the end of the year.
