Household debt is a major national concern, especially personal loans. Data from NCB shows personal loans represent the largest debt type for Thais, accounting for 43% of total debt, and affect all age groups from working age to retirement.
At the same time, interest rates on these loans can be as high as 25% per year, posing a heavy burden on borrowers across all income levels. Currently, most lenders set interest rates based on borrowers’ income, forcing those with good repayment discipline but lower income to bear high interest with no alternatives.
Thakorn Piyapan, CEO of ttb, said that over the years, ttb has been committed to continuously assisting loan customers to reduce financial burdens and sustainably resolve debt issues for Thais.
This year, the bank continues helping debtors by piloting the personal loan ttb Cash2go, breaking rules to set a new standard: better repayment behavior and good credit earn better rates. Instead of interest rates based on income, the bank uses credit scores from NCB as the criterion for determining rates, increasing opportunities for Thais to access loans with appropriate interest rates according to NCB’s evaluation.
This means those with good repayment habits and good credit scores will be rewarded with better interest rates, reflecting customers’ repayment behavior more clearly. Interest rates start at just 13.99% per year for salaried customers, fixed throughout the contract, compared to previous rates that could be as high as 25%.
ttb aims to help good-credit customers access personal loans at favorable rates through ttb Cash2go with a credit limit exceeding 15 billion baht by 2026. Initial response after about one month of offering shows 70% of customers approved for loans received lower interest rates than traditional calculations, reducing their interest burden by about 5% per year, equivalent to saving roughly 20,000 baht per 100,000 baht borrowed.
Furthermore, ttb hopes this will serve as a starting point for other financial institutions to adopt credit score and risk-based pricing approaches to interest rates, encouraging customers to maintain discipline and progress toward better and sustainable financial goals faster.
Thakorn added that personal loans were chosen first because NCB data shows they are the first debt for Thais and constitute the largest share, 43% of total debt.
For the next phase, ttb is looking at car title loans, which have relatively low interest rates around 8-9% per year. The non-transferable registration type, similar to personal loans, will be the subsequent phase, while mortgage loans may have less room for this approach.
, Dr. Latsamon Attapich, CEO of the National Credit Bureau (NCB), said that a credit score indicates the risk of future loan repayment behavior. It is a key tool reflecting an individual’s financial discipline and trustworthiness. Using credit scores in this project helps those with good repayment histories get better interest rates. NCB aims to raise public awareness about the importance of maintaining and valuing their credit, which is a fundamental step toward sustainably resolving household debt problems.
The ttb Cash2go personal loan offers a new interest rate standard that rewards good credit, starting at 13.99% per year, fixed throughout the contract, with a maximum loan amount of 2 million baht or five times the average monthly income, and repayment terms up to 72 months. Applications can be made easily via the ttb touch app or ttb branches.
The ttb Cash2go personal loan interest rates range from 13.99% to 25% per year, subject to the bank's conditions. The example calculation assumes a loan of 100,000 baht over 72 installments, comparing a 23% interest rate with monthly payments of 2,580 baht and total interest of 84,587 baht, versus an 18% rate with monthly payments of 2,290 baht and total interest of 63,699 baht, resulting in an interest difference of 20,888 baht.
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