National e-payment plan driving biometrics growth in Thailand

Efforts by the government of Thailand are contributing to growth and optimism at companies providing biometric identity systems in the country.

The Thai government announced the roll-out of a national e-payment system last year, and the Bank of Thailand seperately notified financial institutions of the need to update customer’s password verification protocols due to fraud. Now, Singapore-based identity management firm i-Sprint Innovations has selected DataOne Asia Thailand as its local authorized distributor, the Bangkok Post reports.

“Apart from Singapore, Thailand has the highest potential for biometric identity usage in Southeast Asia thanks to burgeoning digital banking services,” said Dutch Ng, co-founder and CEO of i-Sprint.

I-Sprint opened an office in Thailand six months ago, and has reached a 70 percent market share in Thailand’s commercial banking sector. DataOne Asia Thailand expects its cybersecurity and identity management revenue to make up 30 percent of its total on the year, up from 20 percent in 2016. It expects revenues from i-Sprint products will reach 100 million baht (approximately $2.85) within 3 years.

Growth in fintech services, as well as cyber attacks, are also likely to encourage biometric use in Thailand.
Thailand’s telecom regulator also introduced a fingerprint ID system for SIM card registration in February.

Article Topics

Asia  |  biometric payments  |  biometrics  |  identity verification