Applying for loans and credit has become difficult for many. In some cases, freelancers without steady incomes lack complete financial statements or documents, making banks hesitant to lend due to uncertainty about how to check the borrower's credit.
However, as the world moves into the digital era, data dispersed across different sources may become the key for banks to better understand and assess borrowers accurately. This could be a turning point to improve credit access, but where should it start?
Thairath Money had the opportunity to discuss this with Daranee Saeju, Assistant Governor for Strategy and Special Projects at the Bank of Thailand (BOT), during the MONEY20/20 event. She explained that Thailand has continuously developed its digital infrastructure, including identity verification systems like ThaiID and NDID, as well as PromptPay, which makes payments easy, fast, and convenient.
But the main challenge is that the digital world contains many types of data spread across various places—such as identity data, financial data, and alternative data—which can be adapted or extended for credit applications. However, the individuals who own this data may not be able to easily access or use it. If this issue is addressed, it is believed that credit access for both the general public and SMEs will become easier.
Therefore, recently the BOT has advanced two main projects.
1) Your Data: connecting data to be “easy and secure.”
The BOT collaborates with multiple agencies to enable people to digitally transfer their data from one service provider to another.
For example, if someone wants to apply for credit with a new bank they have never borrowed from or opened an account with, they don't need to visit a branch or print paper documents. They can request their current bank to send existing loan data and utility payment information directly to the “new bank.”
However, this is very challenging because data sharing within the financial system is not yet comprehensive. The "routes/systems" for transmitting data differ among providers, requiring much further development.
2) Digital RD: using tax filing data for credit applications.
In 2026, Thailand will begin testing the use of tax filing data (forms 1/2/3/90/91/94), such as insurance purchases, mutual funds, income, etc., to support credit applications.
In the first quarter, testing will start with three banks: Krung Thai Bank, Siam Commercial Bank, and Kasikorn Bank. This year, the project will expand to other banks. In the future, there are plans to extend access to non-bank financial institutions, such as telecom businesses, leasing, and hire-purchase companies. Borrowers will be able to easily transmit their data to lenders.
The question remains: besides utility bill payments and tax filing data, what other data groups can banks effectively use for credit evaluation?
Daranee replied that data from e-commerce platforms is very interesting because it reveals customer groups, income bases, and spending behaviors—showing both buyers and sellers. This data can be analyzed to assess Ability to Pay and is an important component banks often use.
In 2026, several BOT initiatives will be underway, but results must be monitored to see how well expectations are met and what further developments can be pursued.
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