Thai’s KBank Offers Digital Loans To Online Sellers

Thailand’s Kasikornbank (KBank) will provide loans of up to 600,000 baht ($19,570) to eCommerce merchants selling on the Shopee platform, Reuters reported on Wednesday (Oct. 2).

The second-largest lender in Thailand said aside from no-doc loans, it will also offer guidance and education.

“We will serve online sellers who want to equip themselves and expand their business,” KBank President Patchara Samalapa told the news outlet.

The Shopee platform sells major brands and products from 750,000 individual sellers.

Thai banks are looking to the country’s flourishing online selling segment as a way to further digital lending, according to the report.

Siam Commercial Bank announced a partnership in September to expand digital loans with Sea’s Thai unit.

“A simplified process will allow sellers to focus on growing their businesses without worrying about the administrative process of obtaining loans,” Shopee Chief Operating Officer Terence Pang said.

Although KBank’s non-interest earnings dropped 16 percent, loans were up 3.8 percent in the second quarter. Thailand is Southeast Asia’s second-largest economy and has seen its biggest drop in growth — 2.3 percent — in five years.

KBank provides its customers with a wide range of services, including wealth management, corporate banking and international financing services.

According to the latest World Bank data, roughly $689 billion in cross-border payments were sent last year. But the remittance market can be riddled with friction, with senders and receivers left in the dark over the state of a transfer and often caught off-guard by fees.

Thai bank earnings have been under pressure from a digital transaction fee waiver last year and slowing loan growth.

KBank is continuing to pursue its partnerships with startups and larger tech firms in an effort to further improve its financial services. Recent collaborations include partnerships with social media giant Facebook to explore “social commerce” opportunities, Singapore-based rideshare and food delivery firm Grab and chat app LINE.