Thailand is undergoing a significant transformation in its banking sector, driven by virtual banking.
Virtual banks can priorities customer needs from inception, designing around digital customer journeys rather than legacy processes or branch networks. They leverage data to gain deeper insights into customers and serve market segments that traditional banking models have historically struggled to reach, says Derrick Lim, Financial Services Industry Leader and Audit & Assurance Partner, Deloitte Thailand.
Once the domain of fintech startups, virtual banks are now being rolled out by established banks as well. Incumbent banks have also made substantial investments in mobile applications, digital onboarding, payments, personalization, and artificial intelligence (AI).
Deloitte’s Digital Banking Maturity 2025 research found that digital banking maturity is moving beyond simply accumulating features towards streamlined processes, better user experiences, and stronger customer relationships.
As a result, being digital-native no longer serves as a differentiator. Instead of digital features, the primary competitive question is likely to be which institution can attract quality customers – people who are low risk and commercially valuable – and turn digital engagement into meaningful, long-term banking relationships.
Relationships, not Technology, as the Differentiator
Traditional banks already possess one of the most challenging assets for new entrants to develop: an established and embedded customer base, alongside decades of trust.
For virtual banks, customer acquisition will be an initial priority. However, acquisition alone is insufficient; banks should aim for low risk, high value customers who regularly save, borrow, pay, invest and manage their financial lives through the bank.
Initially, customers require a compelling reason to open an account. Next, they must be given incentives to use the account actively. Over time, the bank must demonstrate sufficient utility to encourage repeat engagement. Ultimately, the relationship should deepen to encompass a broader range of products, increased share of wallet, enhanced trust, and greater relevance in the customer’s financial life.
The objective is to convert users into meaningful relationships at sufficient scale.
A robust customer base can generate a self-reinforcing growth cycle and a key business model advantage. More users lead to more data, which enables better understanding, improved personalized experiences and decisions, and greater customer value.
For incumbent banks, the challenge is how to turn new technologies into capabilities that are embedded across the bank, rather than isolated within individual products. Customer personalization needs to be mirrored across the rest of the organization, When banking customers are spoiled for choice, you can’t risk clunky legacy processes creating roadblocks and frustrations in the customer journey.
Evolving the Offering While Not Compromising Trust
AI will further accelerate the roll out of improved experiences based on data insights.
Deloitte Thailand’s Digital Transformation Survey 2026 found that more Thai organizations are adopting AI, but not many are translating that into tangible business value. For the financial sector, AI should not merely be an additional feature within the banking application, but a capability integrated throughout customer understanding, decision-making, and operational processes.
However, the latest digital tools will only be successful if they balance security with experience. A seamless journey without trust is unsustainable, while excessive security friction undermines the intended experience. Cybersecurity should therefore be regarded not only as a compliance requirement but as a core element of the customer proposition.
Ultimately, the defining question for Thailand’s banking sector is no longer simply who can acquire customers fastest. It is: which institutions can innovate, adapt and embed new technologies quickly enough to become more relevant to customers and capture the next wave of growth?
This represents both the opportunity for Thailand’s virtual banks and the imperative for incumbent banks as the country enters a new era of banking competition.
