The Bank of Thailand reduces "fees" for the public, covering 4 categories and 19 items, to be implemented gradually from July to October this year.
On 2 June 2026, Mr. Vithai Ratanakorn, Governor of the Bank of Thailand (BOT), announced that the BOT has issued regulations setting standardized service fees and service provisions, reducing several fees to assist general consumers and SME operators in accessing financial products and services at reasonable, fair rates without undue burden. This covers 19 fee items across 4 categories, ensuring that fees charged by financial institutions and credit card providers for basic financial products and services are standardized, clear, transparent, and better aligned with service costs.
Previously, the BOT found that fees charged for certain financial products did not reflect actual costs—for example, some services have lower or no costs due to technological changes but fees were still being collected.
Additionally, fees varied significantly between financial institutions, or some fees lacked clear cost-reflective principles. Therefore, it was deemed necessary to standardize fee-charging practices and reduce several fees to better reflect actual costs. The fee items adjusted are summarized as follows.
1. Fees related to deposit accounts, including charges for requesting account statements, financial status certificates, and maintenance fees for dormant accounts with low balances.
2. Fees related to electronic cards, including entrance and annual fees for basic ATM and debit cards, and any fees or expenses for cash withdrawals using credit cards.
3. Fees related to payment transactions, including cross-district and interline fees for payment services such as deposits, withdrawals, and transfers at electronic machines and branches; transfers via the BahtNet system; cheque deposits; payment collections for goods and services; same-day Bulk Payment transfers; foreign exchange commission substitutes; and BahtNet transfers through electronic channels.
4. Fees related to lending for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), including front-end fees, fees for extending loan drawdown periods, renewal fees for revolving credit lines, prepayment fees for fixed-term loans, and cancellation fees.
Service providers must not impose other charges, new fees, or adjust interest rates to offset the reduced fees as stipulated in this announcement, except in necessary cases such as significant increases in service costs, the end of promotional periods, or changes in customer risk.
If providers cannot comply with the regulations within the specified timeframe, they must refund any excess fees charged to customers from the effective date of the regulations and prepare plans and timelines to fully comply within the required period.
These regulations follow BOT Announcement No. 23/2569 on setting service fee and provision standards. The adjustments will be phased in from the day after publication in the Government Gazette through October 2026, allowing providers time to update their systems.
Thanks to the Bank of Thailand - Bank of Thailand Facebook page