Section i: introduction

The first generation of financial inclusion was defined by expanding access, a task that remains unfinished with 1.3 billion adults globally still excluded. Thailand has emerged as a frontrunner, having moved beyond basic access to the ‘second-generation’ agenda. This shift focuses on whether access translates into positive consumer outcomes, financial well-being, and system resilience. Thailand’s experience is particularly instructive as it entered the digital era with a relatively mature financial sector and has deployed forward-looking regulatory approaches whose outcomes are currently being established.

Section II: Thailand’s digital financial landscape — evolution, opportunities, and risks

Thailand’s journey began with a strong network of state-owned specialised financial institutions (SFIs) and microcredit programmes like the Village and Urban Community Fund, which provided ฿1 million per village in 2001. Account ownership rose from 73% in 2011 to 92% in 2024, with gender gaps virtually eliminated. Digital payment adoption increased from 37% in 2014 to 83% in 2024. However, this growth has introduced significant risks. Household debt reached 94% of GDP in 2021 before declining to 87% by the third quarter of 2025. Digital lending reached US$17 billion by 2025, while cybercrime is rampant, with over 739,000 complaints recorded between 2022 and 2024, resulting in ฿77 billion in damages.

Section III: Thailand’s regulatory approach to inclusive and responsible finance

The regulatory response rests on four interrelated components. First, digital public infrastructure (DPI) includes PromptPay, which has 92 million registered users and processes 75 million transactions daily, and the National Digital ID (NDID) platform, used by 30 million people. The ‘Your Data’ initiative was introduced to enable secure, customer-directed data portability across supervised entities. Second, the Bank of Thailand (BoT) created an enabling environment for innovation by reorganising its regulatory sandbox into three tracks in 2024 and approving three applicant groups for virtual bank licences in June 2025. Buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) services have also expanded rapidly, growing from ฿6.8 billion in 2021 to ฿18 billion in 2024.

Third, consumer safeguards have been strengthened through responsible lending regulations (2024), which established obligations across the credit lifecycle, including affordability assessments. Debt restructuring efforts supported approximately 4.3 million borrowers covering ฿2.5 trillion by December 2025. The Anti-Online Scam Operation Center (AOC), established in 2023, suspended approximately 350,000 suspect accounts in its first year, preventing an estimated ฿19 billion in losses. A shared liability framework for fraud became effective in April 2025. Finally, the BoT has cultivated a culture of adaptive oversight, using moral suasion and strategic communications to shape industry behaviour, alongside international collaborations such as Project Nexus for multilateral instant-payment connectivity.

Section IV: policy considerations

The report identifies seven key considerations for emerging market authorities. These include choosing between building DPI as a unified stack or incrementally and determining when incentives are sufficient versus when mandates are required for provider participation. Regulators must also balance enabling innovation with containing risks, noting that market entry alone may not guarantee effective competition if entrants remain dependent on incumbents for infrastructure and data. Preventive safeguards can reduce harm but may create new exclusion risks for borrowers with irregular incomes or limited credit histories. The report also highlights the need to cultivate a ‘whole-of-system’ regulatory culture that reaches across institutional boundaries.

Section v: conclusion

Thailand’s transition illustrates that while access is a major success, financial resilience remains thin; nearly 40% of adults cannot access emergency funds within 30 days. The next frontier of financial inclusion requires an adaptive, collaborative, and outcomes-focused regulatory approach. Thailand provides an early mover’s account rather than a blueprint, demonstrating the complex tensions between digital infrastructure, innovation, and consumer protection that other economies will increasingly encounter as their systems mature.