DeeMoney Unveils its Neobank Transformation Roadmap
Press Release
SawasdeeShop Co., Ltd, branded as DeeMoney, Thailand’s leading and fastest-growing fintech company specializing in cross-border payments, recently announced its readiness to transform into a full-fledged independent neobank with the upcoming launch of licensed cross-currency e-wallet services in Q1/2023. DeeMoney’s move to expand its financial product offerings and become a neobank is in response to the evolving demands of Thai and international customers who now prefer doing everything, including banking, online. Equipped with a full suite of licenses that will allow DeeMoney to become Thailand’s leading independent neobank, DeeMoney also announced its ultimate mission to evolve into a digital challenger bank (DCB) when the Bank of Thailand sets out the requirements in the coming years. The firm has strategic plans to make inroads into the neobanking segment, expected to show a revenue growth of 39.1% in Thailand and 38.2% in Southeast Asia in 2023.
DeeMoney was incorporated in 2017 with a paid-up capital of 200 million baht. With an annual average growth rate of 300%, the company offers money transfers and foreign currency exchange services for individuals and businesses through its DeeMoney Neo mobile application and the DeeBusiness Portal. These services allow flat-fee inbound and outbound money transfers with no hidden landing charges to 64/43+ countries. DeeMoney, Thailand’s largest non-bank cross-border money transfer service provider, has created a healthy ecosystem of business partners, vendors, and state-of-the-art technologies based on its cross-border payment platform in the past four years. The firm forecasts a substantial growth with over 50 billion baht processed in 2022.
Mr. Aswin Phlaphongphanich, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of DeeMoney (Sawasdeeshop Co., Ltd.), said, “Neobank is a relatively new concept for the Thai market. Amid the ever-growing popularity of digital-first financial services, we see great potential for this new breed of banking. With our full banking license, we aim to lead the fintech industry as Thailand’s first independent neobank.” DeeMoney has a full suite of licenses: Money Changer license, Money Transfer Operator license, E-Money Transfer license and E-Money license. DeeMoney’s new e-wallet services and its Payment-as-a-Service Platform (PaaS) with cross-border payment processing capability will be publicly available early next year. The new offerings will allow its customers to make multi-currency international payments with just a few taps on the website and app. Under DeeMoney’s neobank product stack, the company will launch a complete Save, Send and Receive solution for comprehensive international financial services.
Neobanks (or internet-only banks) are banks that have no physical presence in the real world. The term “neobank” was first used in 2016 to describe fintech firms that challenged traditional banks and disrupted face-to-face, in-branch banking with their digital-first financial services. Neobanks were created in response to a recent surge in demand for a complete digital banking experience without the need to go to physical banks. “Unlike most players in the market who operate financial services using their partners’ licenses, DeeMoney is developing cross-currency services and a PaaS platform through the company’s authorized licenses, making it an independent financial services provider,” explained the CEO.
According to Boston Consulting Group (BCG), two-thirds of neo and challenger banks in Asia are either financial institutions or consortium-backed players. However, DeeMoney still sees opportunities for independent fintech businesses to seize a position to serve the growing market for digital banking. Under its commitment to openness and cooperation over competition, DeeMoney’s independent platform has given rise to constant business model innovation that benefits its growing clientele and partners. Developing its financial platform ensures DeeMoney manages future upward scalability, ensuring the company is well-positioned as a leading-edge critical infrastructure player in the fintech industry.
Positioned to become Thailand’s leading independent neobank, DeeMoney’s digital-first banking platform will offer borderless e-wallets by early 2023. The e-wallets will target individuals and businesses focusing on expatriates, digital nomads, digitally savvy users, young entrepreneurs, and MSMEs. The Thai company said there is a massive market for neobanking in Thailand and the region. According to the Boston Consulting Group (BCG), Southeast Asia, an area of more than 660 million people, is fast emerging as the world’s next megamarket for digital consumer finance. The region accommodates a large pool of digital nomads while hosting one of the most diverse socio-cultural customer segments worldwide. By 2030, 75% of the SEA population will be millennials and Gen Z, and 91% of purchases are predicted to be made by digital payments.
Moreover, Southeast Asian consumers are among the most digitally engaged worldwide. Across Southeast Asia, more than 70% of millennials are connected to the internet. In terms of digital payments, most retailers in Thailand and Singapore, for example, already have well-established real-time payment (RTP) systems, moving towards becoming a cashless society. Global data analysis company Statista reported that digital payments had become Thailand’s most significant fintech segment, with a total transaction value of USD 29.130 billion in 2022. Thailand’s digital payment users are predicted to reach 46.10 million users by 2027. According to Statista, the neobanking segment is expected to show revenue growth of 39.1% in Thailand and 38.2% in Southeast Asia in 2023. Government agencies in Southeast
Asian countries are also setting out regulations and accelerating their efforts to improve digital payment infrastructure and unlock the capabilities of non-bank fintech businesses.
Mr. Aswin Phlaphongphanich said, “DeeMoney is ready to become an independent neobank with our new stack of licensed e-wallet systems and Payment-as-a-Service platform. We look forward to serving individuals, particularly the underbanked, the underserved, and digital nomads, as well as businesses and financial service providers who seek a flexible and lean financial ecosystem, allowing them to shorten time-to-market and minimize development efforts. As a neobank, we will continue to expand our digital-first product offerings to bridge the gap between traditional banking services and changing customer expectations for a one-stop digital-only banking platform.”
“Offering lending and loan services and charging interest is still off limits for neobanks in Thailand. We will continue to strengthen our efforts to disrupt the conventional financial landscape and lead Thailand’s fintech industry through our ‘cooperation over competition’ approach. With our strong network of local and global partners, service operators, and banks, we will evolve into a challenger bank in the future,” the DeeMoney founder added.
DeeMoney’s CEO said the requirements for challenger banks in Thailand had not been set out by the Bank of Thailand. However, when the time comes, the company will be ready to apply for a new license. In the meantime, the fintech company will continue to improve its digital platform and infrastructure while leveraging a new service system for lean operations and partner management. Under its 3D strategy, the firm will defend its leading position, differentiate itself from the crowd with constant product enhancement and disrupt the industry with scalable business model innovation. A nomad at heart, DeeMoney said it would roll out digital services to empower the underserved to connect the world with innovative financial technologies.
