TMBThanachart Bank (ttb) plans to transition some of its traditional branches to paperless and cashless outlets in an effort to increase its digital banking user base by 30% this year.
The bank's brick-and-mortar branches total 560 nationwide, and 5-10 are expected to switch to paperless and cashless outlets as a pilot project, starting from the third quarter this year.
The transformed branches will no longer accept cash transactions, instead handling transactions via electronic and digital channels, said ttb president Thakorn Piyapan.
Cash transactions at physical branches are mainly bill payments, money deposits and withdrawals. Customers can conduct transactions with greater speed, convenience and security using ttb touch, the bank's mobile banking app, or ATMs, Mr Thakorn said.
Bank staff plan to educate customers on using digital channels instead of cash transactions at branches, he said.
If customers want to withdraw large amounts at a bank counter, they can request the service via the mobile banking app or call centre before going to a branch to receive the money, said Mr Thakorn.
The bank will continue to test the design of the services and monitor changes in consumer behaviour during the digital era, he said.
"The pilot project will initially transition Bangkok branches," said Mr Thakorn.
"With this new service model, we expect to reduce operating costs at these branches by 50% from the traditional service model."
The country's sixth-largest lender by total assets, ttb wants to reduce brick-and-mortar branches to 540 by year-end, encouraging customers to use the digital platform.
The bank has 7 million retail depositors, of which 5 million use the mobile banking app. It aims to increase its mobile banking user base to 6.5 million, a 30% year-on-year increase.
For 2023, ttb aims to expand its total deposit portfolio to 1.05 trillion baht, a 5% increase from the previous year.
In addition, the bank wants to expand its new customer base in all areas of retail banking business, including deposits, wealth management, mortgages, credit cards and auto loans, he said.
Wealth management and payroll business are the key segments to facilitate new customer expansion, Mr Thakorn said.
He said the bank plans to launch a new service called ttb broker, offering auto insurance and strengthening the retail banking business. For the next phase, ttb broker is expected to expand into life insurance and targets premiums of 5 billion baht in the first year of business operation, rising to 10 billion in the third year, said Mr Thakorn.
