Thai financial group SCBX, partnering with South Korea’s Kakao Bank in a groundbreaking virtual banking initiative, has established a new subsidiary. This subsidiary will ultimately function as the corporate entity for the upcoming digital lender.
According to reports from Thai media outlet The Nation on Monday, SCBX has formally filed with the Stock Exchange of Thailand to create Bank X Public Company Limited as a new subsidiary within the SCBX Group.
SCBX, the holding company for Siam Commercial Bank, is collaborating with Kakao Bank and China’s WeBank Technology Services to launch what is anticipated to be Thailand’s pioneering virtual bank.
This development follows the approval granted by the central bank of Thailand in July 2025, authorizing the consortium to commence operations as a fully digital bank potentially as early as the latter half of this year. The central bank stipulated that the approved group must first establish a corporate entity before initiating operations, with a timeline of approximately one year.
The report indicates that the filing reveals the new company was registered with an initial capital of 10,000 baht ($304 USD). Plans are in place to increase this capital to 5 billion baht later in the year, coinciding with the application for a banking license from Thailand’s Finance Ministry. This aligns with the requirements and timeline established by the central bank.
As per the agreement, SCBX will initially hold 90 percent of the shares in Bank X, while Kakao Bank will possess 10 percent. Kakao Bank intends to gradually increase its stake to 24.5 percent, thereby becoming the second-largest shareholder in the virtual bank venture.
jwc
