Krungthai Bank: Best Social Impact Bank Thailand 2019

With the Thai government as a majority stakeholder, Krungthai Bank is fulfilling its mission of economic growth for the country and its citizens. Krungthai Bank has been instrumental in implementing governmental initiatives, including the National e-Payment and Cashless Society schemes. It has also brought in Thailand’s 4.0 initiative, a digital transformation to boost innovation and competitiveness. The bank contributes to the sustainable growth of the Thai economy and an improved quality of life for the Thai people by digitalising financial services across five ecosystems: mass transit, healthcare, education, government, and payments. As a commercial government bank, Krungthai Bank aims to deliver competitive shareholder returns while respecting its responsibilities to Thai society and the environment. One of the bank’s flagship products, the government welfare card, provides low-income earners with digital financial services. In the project’s second phase, Krungthai Bank distributed around 14.6 million welfare cards to underprivileged groups of the population — including the elderly, disabled people, and bed-ridden patients — for purchasing power at more than 35,000 Blue Flag shops and 24,000 nationwide vendors of the Thung Ngern Pracharat app. The app makes it easier for store owners to collect money from social welfare card holders. Recent government efforts to boost the economy “from the grassroots up” have taken advantage of Krungthai Bank’s infrastructure to facilitate government-allotted incentives for domestic travel, as well as to provide subsidies to low-income earners nationwide. The CFI.co judging panel has followed the bank’s progress for several years and has found it be a model of integrity and responsibility. The judges present Krungthai Bank, a third-year repeat winner, with the 2019 award for Best Social Impact Bank (Thailand).