The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank Group have released the Bangkok Blueprint, a framework designed to help countries prevent, detect, and respond to cyber-enabled fraud in digital financial services. It was developed in coordination with the Bank of Thailand during the institutions' annual meetings in Thailand, according to a joint statement. The framework sets out 12 key considerations to help countries identify vulnerabilities and build coordinated responses to fraud. According to the institutions, fraud has grown in speed, scale, and sophistication as digital finance has expanded. Citing INTERPOL, the statement noted that cyber-enabled fraud is increasingly linked to transnational organised crime and ranks among the most serious global crime threats, alongside drug trafficking and money laundering.
Five pillars for prevention and cooperation
The Bangkok Blueprint is built on five pillars. The first focuses on establishing strategic and legal foundations. The second covers strengthening fraud prevention, detection, and response, and the third draws on existing risk mitigation and enforcement frameworks. The remaining two pillars address expanding domestic and cross-border cooperation and promoting consumer protection and resilience.
The framework also highlights the role that social media, digital platforms, ecommerce, and telecommunications networks play in fraud schemes. It calls for clear accountability and timely cooperation between public and private institutions. Rather than prescribing a single model, the blueprint encourages countries to adapt its recommendations to their own legal, institutional, and market conditions.
Trust in digital finance at the centre
Kristalina Georgieva, Managing Director of the IMF, said international cooperation against fraud is essential to preserving confidence in financial technologies that support growth and inclusion. Anshula Kant, Managing Director and Chief Financial Officer of the World Bank Group, said stronger protection would allow people to use digital financial services with confidence and benefit from the economic opportunities and jobs they create. Thai officials also stressed the cross-border nature of the problem. Vitai Ratanakorn, Governor of the Bank of Thailand, said no single country or institution can address the challenge alone. Ekniti Nitithanprapas, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister, called for a more connected response as digital finance becomes increasingly interlinked across markets.
For the payments and fintech ecosystem, the blueprint places fraud prevention within a broader policy framework that extends beyond financial institutions. Its focus on platforms, telecommunications providers, and ecommerce reflects how fraud schemes now span multiple sectors. As a result, coordination between regulators, payment providers, and technology companies may become a more prominent part of national anti-fraud strategies.
