Thailand drafts bill for digital ID system based on face recognition

Banks hope that the bill will allow them to rapidly grow their customer base through the internet and mobile phones. The draft bill would require the establishment of a 12-person committee to oversee the digital ID platform, with the Office of the Electronic Transactions Commission acting as its secretariat office, and stipulate criteria, means, and conditions for use of the platform by businesses and data protection for consumers, according to the government.

The committee will also impose fees and handling charges, while companies will be required to draft confidentiality standards and safety information before being issued an operating license.

Facial recognition will be used to verify the identity of users opening new deposit accounts. Several large banks, such as Bangkok Bank (BBL), participated in e-KYC trials conducted in the Bank of Thailand’s regulatory sandbox, according to the report. The bank expects tens of thousands of new accounts to be opened within six months of the new service’s availability.

A Finance Ministry spokesperson said the system will likely come into force in 2019.