In the wake of the dead-end for Virtual Bank licenses from local banks last month, the majority of the capital group names that applied for licenses may ring a bell, with the exception of the Lightnet Group that has teamed up with WeLab, a lesser-known entity in Thailand.
Lightnet Group, a Thai startup FinTech, has expanded its services internationally, specializing in cross-border money transfers, Payment Service Provider, Virtual Account, and payment services. Hiran Krittay nophonchai, co-founder and CEO of Lightnet Group, stated that the company holds over 20 licenses globally and in Thailand, ensuring access to over 46 million Thai customers through partners spanning various industries such as agriculture, mass transportation, product distribution, and more, with a network exceeding 150,000 touchpoints nationwide.
Meanwhile, WeLab, a financial platform provider from Hong Kong, focuses on three main business areas – digital banking, B2B financial solutions, and digital credit release platform, currently operating in Hong Kong, China, and Indonesia. Through this partnership, the consortium aims to establish a Virtual Bank within 12 months post-licensing, leveraging technology ranging from Core Bank to algorithmic fraud prevention provided by WeLab.
On the left: Simon Loong, founder and CEO of WeLab; On the right: Hiran Krittay nophonchai, co-founder and CEO of Lightnet. WeLab suggests that the Core Bank setup should take less than 6 months, drawing from their experience in Indonesia, mainly focused on localization efforts such as data linking and system or language adjustments, essential in combating various types of fraud. WeLab is confident in their current prevention algorithms against any fraudulent activities.
In terms of strategic service provision, the group is confident in their past international service experience and success, coupled with a robust technology and financial solution portfolio. This readiness will pave the way for delivering Virtual Bank services in Thailand.
TLDR: Two entities, Lightnet Group and WeLab, join forces to establish a Virtual Bank in Thailand leveraging advanced technologies and financial solutions.
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