Thailand's financial services industry is entering a new era of competition and transformation. The Bank of Thailand’s recent approval of three digital banking licence applicants—Krungthai Bank in partnership with Advanced Info Service (AIS) and PTT Oil and Retail (OR); SCB X Public Company (SCBX) with South Korea’s KakaoBank and China’s WeBank; and Charoen Pokphand (CP) Group with TrueMoney—represents a turning point in its push for financial innovation and inclusion. These virtual banks, expected to launch by 2026, will challenge incumbents with cloud-native cores, modular infrastructure and innovative customer-centric propositions. Against this backdrop, leaders from across Thailand’s financial ecosystem convened for a leadership roundtable hosted by TAB Global, with the support of Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Mambu. The roundtable was framed around four major transformation themes that are top-of-mind for financial institutions: moving from strategy to execution on digital agility, embedding artificial intelligence (AI) for real business outcomes, delivering embedded finance and real-time customer engagement, and responding to the competitive impact of licensed digital-only banks These themes framed a wide-ranging, forward-looking discussion anchored in real-world experiences and examples. Participants outlined not only their technology priorities but also the operational and cultural imperatives necessary for Thailand’s incumbent banks to stay competitive. A new competitive reality The roundtable opened with participants reflecting on the broader implications of the Bank of Thailand’s approval of three virtual banks. The consensus was clear: these new players are expected to be cloud-native, agile and customer-centric from day one. The participants noted that virtual banks will compete aggressively in retail and small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) segments, targeting deposits, small-ticket consumer lending and underserved populations through differentiated data-driven underwriting. Their readiness to deploy modular, application programming interface (API)-first architectures gives them an edge in rapidly launching and adapting products. This anticipated competition is pushing incumbents to reevaluate their existing models, especially around product speed-to-market and credit underwriting. Several institutions shared how they are shifting towards real-time, AI-driven credit scoring and acquisition engines, enabling faster, more adaptive decision-making while maintaining prudent risk controls. Others acknowledged the pressure to improve digital servicing and personalisation, particularly for informal and underbanked customers. There was wide agreement that legacy batch-based and rule-driven underwriting will be insufficient. Incumbents are now exploring alternative data sources, dynamic pricing models and proactive engagement strategies to respond more nimbly to customer needs and market shifts. David Becker, managing director, Asia Pacific (APAC) at Mambu, remarked, “This is a generational opportunity to do banking differently. A lot of us think that the virtual banks coming in 2026 will be cloud-first, cloud-native. That’s a given. They will be agile, customer-centric from the start, and will set a new bar for speed and innovation. The opportunity for the incumbents is still there—if they can execute in the right way.” Executing on digital agility While digital transformation strategies are well defined, participants noted the execution gap remains a major hurdle. Many cited entrenched silos, legacy infrastructure and governance rigidity as challenges. The call was clear: digital agility must move beyond innovation labs and pilot projects to become the enterprise-wide norm. One executive shared that they have reorganised product and technology teams into cross-functional squads with end-to-end accountability. Another highlighted the importance of retraining development, security and operations (DevSecOps) engineers and upskilling product owners to understand both business objectives and technical feasibility. As one participant put it, "We need to shift from delivering projects to owning outcomes." Success in this space requires not just new tools, but new mindsets. Agile at scale is about aligning technology and business on shared key performance indicators (KPIs), empowering teams with decision rights, and enabling rapid iteration through automation and cloud-native platforms. A few institutions are developing digital factories or agile centres of excellence to institutionalise this shift. Michael Araneta, Financial Services Industry (FSI) lead, ASEAN, at Amazon Web Services (AWS), added, “People often think of agility as moving fast, but real agility is being able to iterate and evolve continuously—launching products, testing ideas, learning from them. That’s where composable architecture and cloud-native platforms come in, but it also depends on the mindset and operating model behind the tech.” Operationalising AI for impact AI is increasingly viewed as critical to improving efficiency, personalisation and risk management. However, most banks still face barriers in industrialising AI across the enterprise. Participants shared how AI remains limited to isolated use cases, often due to fragmented data architectures and unclear governance structures. Several institutions are creating centralised AI centres of excellence to standardise experimentation, model governance and compliance. Explainability was a key concern—particularly for credit decisioning—given regulatory scrutiny. Institutions are working to ensure that AI models are interpretable, auditable and free from bias, in line with the Bank of Thailand's expectations. Others emphasised the importance of solving data quality issues and integrating AI models into core workflows, rather than keeping them siloed in innovation teams. There was strong agreement that the value of AI lies not in novelty but in responsible, scalable deployment that improves real outcomes. Jaykie Tan, head of business development for Asia Pacific at Mambu, added, “AI doesn’t solve everything magically. We really need to demystify it. Its value comes from how we embed it in daily decisions—in lending, in customer interactions, even in collections—and how we make sure it’s explainable and compliant.” Enabling embedded finance and real-time engagement As more financial services are delivered through third-party platforms, banks are building embedded finance capabilities to stay relevant. Participants highlighted the growing demand from e-commerce and telecommunications partners for embedded lending, payments and know-your-customer (KYC) services. To meet this demand, several banks are investing in open APIs, sandbox environments and modular backends. However, concerns remain. One executive warned that embedded finance should not dilute brand identity or lead to disintermediation. Others raised the risk of compliance lapses when onboarding partners that lack financial sector governance maturity. Real-time engagement emerged as a parallel challenge. Participants agreed that banks must shift from reactive, batch-based interactions to continuous, event-driven engagement. This requires re-architecting legacy systems around streaming data platforms, cloud-native infrastructure and real-time analytics. The payoff, they believe, is stronger customer loyalty and better risk monitoring. Responding to the digital-only bank disruptors The conversation circled back to the virtual banks. The mood was one of cautious urgency. While incumbents recognise their inherent advantages—strong brands, deep customer bases and regulatory experience—they also acknowledge the risk of complacency. Participants agreed that simply copying digital bank features will not suffice. Instead, incumbents must rethink their value propositions and operating models. One participant remarked, "The real battle is not technology versus technology. It’s how fast we can adapt and rewire ourselves." Some shared how they are restructuring internal teams, flattening hierarchies and breaking down silos to respond faster. Others emphasised the importance of cultural transformation—embedding curiosity, experimentation and customer obsession into the DNA of the organisation. Araneta pointed out, “It's not enough to have the tools—you need a structure that enables fast response. Banks need to be able to sense and respond to changes quickly, and that means changing how teams are built, how decisions are made, and how success is measured.” A strategic inflection point The roundtable concluded with a shared conviction that the entry of virtual banks is not just a regulatory milestone but a strategic inflection point. Incumbents that act boldly, break down internal constraints and embrace agility, AI and openness will be best positioned to lead. Thailand’s financial services industry is entering a defining decade. The winners will not be those with the longest legacy, but those with the clearest vision, fastest execution and deepest relevance to their customers in a digital-first world.